
Class. 

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SMITIISOXIAX l)i:i'()SIT. 



MORRISON'S 

STRANGER'S GUIDE 

TO THE . . .- 

CITY OF WASHINGTON 






:ts viciNiTy.,>^ H JTA^ c 



ILLUSTRATED WITH EIGHTEEN STEEL, AND TWENTY 
WOOD, ENGRAVINGS : REVISED AND CORRECT- 
ED, WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY THE 

REV. R. R. GURLEY. 



WASHINGTON, 
WILLIAM M. MORRISON, 

1852. 



115 3. 



Entered according to act of Congress, in the 
year 1852, b y Will i am M. Mo rrison, in the 
Clerk's Of^c^ot' the 'bistrict 'Court for the 



*i^* 



trict of Columbia. 



C. Alexander, Printer, 
F, near 17th street. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE, 

Introduction 1 

Washington City 13 

Potomac River 21 

Public Halls, &c 23 

Hotels and Boarding Houses 27 

Public Schools 27 

Private Seminaries 29 

Libraries 30 

Arts and Artists 31 

Population of Washington 34 

Churches 34 

Burial Grounds 38 

Congressional Cemetery 38 

Capitol 44 

Trumbull's and other pictures. ... 52 

Hall of the House 59 

Senate Chamber 62 

Library Room 64 

Naval Monument 67 

Capitol Grounds 67 

President's House 69 



, CONTENTS. 

Statue of Jefferson 76 

State Department 78 

Treasury Department 79 

War Department 81 

Navy Department 82 

Post Office 83 

The Patent Office 84 

Washington Monument 87 

Statue of Washington 94 

Jackson Monument 97 

National Observatory 98 

Office of the Coast Survey 105 

Smithsonian Institution 107 

Public Grounds 114 

Columbian College 115 

Navy Yard 118 

Arlington 120 

Georgetown 125 

Heights of Georgetown 126 

Oak Hill Cemetery 127 

Convent of Visitation 130 

Miss English's Female Seminary 130 

Alexandria 132 

Mount Vernon 138 

Bladensburg 141 

(Conclusion , 142 



ENGRAVINGS, 



PAGI 

Portrait of Washington, to face Vignette 

title. 
Vignette — old vault at Mount Vernon. 

View of the City of Washington . 13 

Congressional Burial Ground 38 

West view of the Capitol 44 

East view of the Capitol. 44 

Tympanum, eastern portico of the Capi- 
tol 4«i 

Statue of Columbus 48 

Statue of War 50 

Statue of Peace 51 

Penn's Treaty with the Indians 57 

Boone's Conflict with the Indians 57 

Representative's Hall 59 

Landing of the Pilgrims 60 

Rescue of Capt. Smith by Pocahontas. ... 61 

Clock in the Representative's Hall 63 

Senate Chamber 64 

Peale's Portrait of Washington 65 

Naval Monument 68 



VI 



ENGRAVINGS 



President's House — south front 71 

President's House — north front 71 

I Statue of Jefferson 77 

^ Treasury Department 79 

Post Office 83 

Patent Office '....*... ^ 84 

Washington Monument {.^ A? { f tk ) 88 

Statue of Washington. 95 

National Observatory 99 

Smithsonian Institution 106 

Cohimbian College 116 

Navy Yard 118 

Arhngton 121 

Georgetown 125 

View from the Heights of Georgetown . . 126 

Little Falls of the Potomac 132 

Alexandria 133 

Mount Vernon 138 

Bladensburg 141 



INTllODUCTION 



In the advantages of position, climate, produc- 
tions, and scenery, the District of Columbia is 
perhaps unsurpassed. True, there maybe in other 
countries, and even in this, regions where nature 
shows an aspect bolder and more grand ; yet is 
there none of the same extent, in which, from so 
many points, she looks forth with features of such 
modest, tranquil, charming beauty. True, there is 
here no Alpine or ocean scenery, no cliffs, glens, 
or lakes, like those of Scotland ; yet, from any 
position on the fine amphitheatre of hills thrown 
around Washington, including those on the Vir- 
ginia side of the Potomac, what objects of rich 
and varied, of simple and picturesque loveliness, 
meet the eye! He who looks out from the Capi- 
tol, from the heights of Georgetown, or from 
Arlington, (the seat of Mr. Custis,) sees spread 
before him a view which must gain in the compari- 
son with those famous ones from Windsor Castle 
or Richmond Hill in England, and to which, on 
the same scale, nothing superior, if equal, can be 
found in the compass of the Union. And where 
is the spot on earth more abounding than this 
District in all those good gifts of Providence, which 



2 INTRODUCTION. 

supply, not merely the necessities, but minister to 
the luxurious desires and refined taste of civilized 
man ? Ships laden with the productions of every 
land may be borne on the bosom of a noble river 
to its w^harves ; from its forests, fields, and gar- 
dens, may be gathered provision for a feast such 
as a Roman emperor could not buy ; flowers of 
every hue shed their fragrance on its genial air, 
and birds of sweetest song build their nests among 
its branches. The people of this District may 
adopt with truth the words of inspiration, and say, 
"the lines have fallen to us in pleasant places, and 
we have a goodly heritage." 

But if the natural advantages of this District 
are great, the peculiarities of the social and politi- 
cal condition of its inhabitants are not undeserving 
of notice and regard. Selected for the seat of the 
Federal Government, and placed under its legisla- 
tive control, while they enjoy not the political 
rights and independence of the States, they share 
more in the favor and protection and are more iden- 
tified with the interests and prosperity of the na- 
tion. They are less disturbed and distracted by 
questions connected with State rights and local 
politics. The stormy agitations connected with 
elections spend much of their rage before they 
reach these limits, or break out only in the halls, 
^nd subside with the departure of Congress, This 



1 NTRODlKVrrON. 3 

is to be understood not of those connected with the 
offices of Government, but of the citizens generally, 
who, enjoying the blessings of good government, 
are well satisfied with the immunities and honors 
of private life, leaving to others the anxieties, re- 
sponsibilities, and direction of public affairs. Such 
persons find in this District a sheltered and quiet 
nook, where, indeed, they may hear the sound of 
the tempest, but fear not its power, and, while 
observing eveiy now and then some gallant vessel 
dashed a wreck upon the shore, pursue their occu- 
pations with thankfulness, that they can look out 
upon the angry waves of the political ocean, and 
remain inaccessible to their wrath, and dread no 
treacherous elements of its evil fortune. They 
have all the intellectual advantages of the ablest 
political discussions, but are less exposed than 
citizens of the States to the evil effects of political 
excitement upon the passions of the heart. 

Of the social condition of the inhabitants of this 
District, it may be remarked, that it has all the 
freshness of youth ; that the population is gathered 
from every section of the country, and even from 
distant and different nations ; that, w^hile favored 
with many agricultural and commercial advanta- 
ges, they are not particularly exposed to be seduced 
into wild speculations and dangerous excitements of 
.the love of gain ; that, while not impelled to make 



4 INTRODUCTION. 

haste to be rich, they may be certain that industry, 
frugality, antl economy will find sure rewards; that, 
like the people of ancient Elis, in Greece, they 
dwell on a territory dedicated to the common good 
of all the tribes of the Republic, and to which they 
annually come up, not in arms, or to the trial of 
their physical strength, but to the contest of mind 
with mind, in skillful argument and eloquent debate, 
on subjects of high and solemn bearing on the 
welfare of the State, and finally, that an almost 
constant and extensive intei'course with their fellow 
citizens from all sections of the Union, and stran- 
gers from foreign lands, will prove for good or evil, 
as they are trained and disciplined to render such 
intercourse and the knowledge derived from it, the 
aliment of virtue or the means and aids to vice. 

The cultivation of a taste for science and letters 
is of the highest importance to the people of this 
District, and by this will they most effectually adorn, 
and elevate their character, and advance their highest 
interests. It is not strange that many have ascribed 
the origin of written language to God, since it is 
difiicult to imagine that unaided human reason could 
have devised so wonderful an instrument for the 
communication of thought and the increase of 
knowledge. Things most admirable, being com- 
mon, cease to be admired. The alleged facts of 
mesmerism are not, perhaps, more wondei-ful, 
than leiters and their use must appear to a barba- 



INTRODUCTION. 5 

rian. How surprised was the poor Indian who, 
when sent by his civilized neighbor with a letter 
and present to a friend, was told that if he took 
anything from the basket, the letter would inform 
of his theft, and therefore while violating his trust, 
hid it under a stone that it might not see him, to 
find his dishonesty instantly detected ! Could tliere 
be thrown wide open at once to this untauglit 
savage, the gates to that exhaustless and unbounded 
universe of knowledge to which letters give access : 
could he behold the events of past ages, the con- 
tests, achievements, the words, and even the very 
thoughts of a hundred generations, embalmed and 
treasured up in history: could he be ushered into 
the i^resence chamber of Shakespeare's genius, 
garnished with poetic majesty and beauty, hung 
round with the gorgeous tapestry of kingly halls, 
and all emblems and pictures of comic life or tragic 
sorrow ; or into that statelier and purer temple 
where Milton worshiped, singing high anthems as 
at heaven's doors to God's omnipotence ; or, turn- 
ing from these regions where taste and fancy linger, 
catch but a glimpse of that kingdom of philosophy 
where Bacon stood pre-eminent, the high priest 
and interpreter of nature, because willing to follow 
her methods, and listen to her voice, unlock her 
various departments where are named and classi- 
fied, examined, and registered, all the countless 
forms of the animal, vegetable, and mineral crca- 



Q INTRODUCTION. 

tion : could he gaze upon star-eyed science, as she 
marshals her bright host, keeping watch over our 
shadows, changes, and decay, expressing silently 
the glory, and, by swift obedience, and constant 
and mighty evolutions, declaring themselves the 
sentinels and the messengers of the Father of 
Eternity : could he lift the veil from the mind, dis- 
cover its powers, laws, passions, the force of reason, 
the depth and tenderness of the affections, the vigor 
and grasp of the imagination, the energy of the 
will, and the supremacy of conscience, and how to 
one and all belongs the grandeur of immortality : 
would he not fall down before the Great Spirit of 
the universe, and deem himself enriched and sur- 
rounded by the special gifts and revelations of His 
wisdom ? How wide the gulf which separates 
those who have, from those who have not, the 
knowledge and use of letters ! And who that is 
not indifferent to his own happiness will fail to 
enrich and adorn his mind with choice thoughts 
and the precepts of the highest philosophy, that, in 
solitude or adversity, he may find himself in pos- 
session of treasures of which no earthly power can 
deprive him, and which he can freely impart to 
others, Mdthout diminution, and without loss ! Yet 
the observation of Fuseli, as quoted by Professor 
Henry, should be remembered: "That no great 
genuine work of art was ever produced where the 
artist did not love his art for its own sake ; and the 



INTRODUCTION. 7 

remark applies to every branch of science and let- 
tei-s. All the master works of the mind must be 
the genial production of those who find their labors 
their own exceeding great reward. True love alone 
quickens creative energy. He who can be drawn 
to labor in the cause of truth, and letters, only by 
the earthly rewards of money and honor, will never 
do anything worthy of reward." 

There is a sense of personal honor and dignity 
connected with knowledge and intellectual power, 
which belongs to no mere distinction of rank and 
fortune. This is true both of individuals and com- 
munities. In what catalogue of nobles or of kings 
are names to compare with those of Homer, Aris- 
totle, Plato, Bacon, Locke, Shakespeare, Milton, 
Butler, Newton, Edwards, who have contributed to 
exalt the human understanding, thrown new light 
upon abstruse subjects of human inquiry, and en- 
larged the empire of wisdom ? Who, asks an elo- 
quent author, " would not prefer to have been a 
citizen of the small republic of Geneva, than to 
have wandered a prince on the territories of the 
Czar, or reign the master of a desolated conti- 
nent." 

If, which is doubtful, any other portions of this 
country may boast of natural advantages superior 
to those of the District of Columbia, surely the 
people of none have greater inducements and op- 
portunities for the cultivation of literature and 



§ INTRODUCTION. 

science, of manners and the heart. The absence 
of the strongest stimulants to commercial cupidity 
and political ambition leave them especially open 
to the gentler and more refining influences con- 
nected with the study of nature, of books, and 
themselves. As they have less chance of distinc- 
tion in some other pursuits, they have a fairer 
prospect and stronger motives to seek it by intellec- 
tual culture, the acquisition of knowledge, the im- 
[trovement of the arts, and the exhibition of the 
best manners and the most humane and generous 
affections. Their territory is not too large for the 
highest cultivation in every part. Be it then the 
garden spot of the republic, more attractive than 
the ancient groves of the academy, where not our 
countrymen only, but foreigners, may refresh 
themselves by purer than Castalian streams, and 
find philosophy, while discoursing eloquently on 
the works, not irreverent, unbaptised, and without 
awe of the providence and word of God. 

Thus, by winning distinction for their literary, 
scientific, and moral character, will the inhabitants 
of this District most effectually advance all their 
secular and subordinate interests. The central 
position it occupies in the political system, and the 
establishment within its limits, of the seat of the 
General Government, the annual assemblage of 
Congress, and of such citizens of the States as may 
find cause to attend upon its proceedings, renderf.- 



I N T R O D U T I O N . 9 

this District, for a residence, a place of many attrac- 
tions. If it become a home for genius, taste, and 
art, be greatly distinguished for the love of letters, 
for scientific investigation and discovery ; if it be- 
come famous for its schools and colleges, combin- 
ing in their methods of instruction and discipline 
■whatever the vi^isdom of antiquity can supply to 
the study and experience of modern times, thou* 
sands will make it their abode, assured that while 
they bring their sons and daughters to secure the 
benefit of the best education, they place them also 
where example will add force to precept, where 
what is begun in the schools will be cherished and 
perfected by the ever present influence of general 
society. To this District let the eyes of our country- 
men be once turned as were the eyes of all Greece 
towards Athens, and it will do more for its pecu- 
niary and every other valuable interest than a do- 
nation of millions from the national treasury. 

And since the influence of this District must be 
for good or evil to the whole nation, its citizens owe 
it to their country to seek nothing short of the 
highest attainments possible in literature, science, 
and a sound Christian influence. Ignorance and 
vice at the heart will send a pernicious influence to 
the extremities of the political body ; while every 
pulsation there of intellectual energy and virtuous 
sentiments will infuse health and gladness through 
the entire system. Vast are the responsibilities of 

a2 



IQ INTRODUCTION. 

tlie people of this District. Not for tiiemselves 
aloue do they act nor should they labor, but that 
from the Capital of the Union a high-toned intelli- 
gence and manly virtue may be sent forth to per- 
vade and bless'the population of the land, so that, 
if this District be least in the measure of its terri- 
tory and in its political rights, it may be greatest in 
the distinctions of the intellect and the moral dig- 
nity of its example. In pecuniary resources and 
political power it cannot hope to rival any one of 
the States, but the loftiest among tliem it may equal, 
if not excel in virtue and beneficence ; and, while 
wisdom is better than strength or than weapons of 
war, while the words of the wise are heard in 
(juiet more than the cry of him who ruleth among 
fools, if true to themselves and their country its 
people may kindle a light around the Capital 
which shall confound the pretensions of vanity, 
and expose the disguises of guilt, and exert a 
moral influence upon the nation to its utmost 
limit and for all time. Nor can language express 
the dishonor which would be theirs, should they 
ever permit darkness to settle upon the high place 
to which the tribes of our Israel come up, to mingle 
their congratulations, renew their patriotic vows, 
invigorate their intellect, strengthen their union, and, 
by their high example, call the world to liberty. 

Tlie people of this District have everything to 
encourage their hopes, and incite them to the 



INTRODUCTION. Jj 

most decided and confident etTorts in the cause 
of letters, of art, and of science. The system of 
common school education, so well commenced, the 
many private and public seminaries of great ex- 
cellence rising into life, the establishment of colleges 
of high promise, the National Observatory, Na- 
tional Institute, and Smithsonian Institution, open- 
ing a wide and cheering prospect of scientific dis- 
coveries to future generations^ — these are signs and 
assurances that this District is yet to become worthy 
of the distinc.tion it enjoys, and for itself to win 
a renown more exalted than it is possible for cir- 
cumstances or any Government to confer. 

There is manifestly abroad among the citizens of 
Washington and th^ District, a spirit of improve- 
ment, and the recent policy of the city authorities 
is such as promises large and permanent benefits to 
the community. Public attention begins to be 
turned earnestly to architecture, an art embodying 
more perfectly than any other, beauty and gran- 
deur, the cultivation of which is adapted to refine 
the taste, exalt the imagination, and chasten and 
ennoble the moral sentiments. 

Manners, it has been justly said, are more im- 
portant than laws. Of these a sound morality is 
the basis, and the only adequate sanction of this is 
derived from the revealed will of God. The culti- 
vation of letters and science disciplines the higher 
faculties, diminishes the power of the senses and 



12 INTRODUCf 10?^. 

the force of the temptations which threaten virtuej 
gives pleasure, which there will be no cause to re- 
gret, and means of usefulness which it is our duty 
to employ. But the highest genius and largest 
acquirements do not of necessity soften and refine 
the manners, or purify the heart. Without the 
spirit of a Divine Philosophy, the finest parts, most 
brilliant wit, and ample knowledge, are but the 
adornings of a sepulchre, and profit nothing. 

Faitliful to their high trust, the present inhabi- 
tants of this District may anticipate the time (let it 
be not far distant) when tlie great arid good Father 
of his Country, turning his benignant eye to this 
territory of his choice, shall behold it rich in 
agricultural resources and improvements, adorned 
by industry, by art, and all architectural beauty ; 
its hills covered by stately edifices, its valleys smil- 
ing with cultivated gardens and the best products 
of the soil, its churches solemn, well proportioned^ 
and grand in aspect ; its schools and colleges all 
that the wisest friends of education could desire ; 
and) towering above all, a National University 
worthy of the name of "Washington, who pro- 
posed it, and of the nation that shall endow it and 
participate through all ages in its inestimable bless- 
ings! 






'r 



4'!'- 



4 '^ 



>; M 



WASHINGTON 



Washington City, the seat of Government of 
the United States, is within the District of Co- 
lumbia, a Territory which, as ceded by Maryland 
and Vir^nia to the Government, was ten miles 
square, the diagonal lines running north and south 
and east and west, and which, as selected by 
General Washington, included the cities of Wash- 
ington, Georgetown, and Alexandria. That part 
which was ceded by Virginia, being all that por- 
tion of the District which lay south of the Po- 
tomac, including the city of Alexandria, has 
recently, by act of Congress, been restored to Vir- 
ginia. Washington is admirably situated for a 
magnificent city, on the left bank of the Potomac, 
and the right of the Anacostia or Eastern Branch, 
and was laid out by General Washington on a 
plan commensurate with his enlarged mind. 

This city is nearly surrounded by a fine amphi- 
theatre of hills, of moderate elevation, covered 
with trees and shrubbery, commanding from many 
points picturesque scenery and extensive views 
of the Potomac or river of Swans, which, de- 
scending from the Alleghany mountains, and wind- 
ing its way for nearly four hundred miles, through 
a fertile and most attractive country, expands into 
a3 



14 PICTURE OF 

the Chesapeake bay, and finally, through its ample 
waters, mingles itself with the ocean. The en- 
virons of the city abound in the most eligible sites 
for villas and country seats for individuals of 
wealth and taste, and such will doubtless be mul- 
tiplied as the great advantages of Washington for 
health, education and agreeable and refir^d society, 
become evident and more extensively known. 

The first recorded communication in regard to 
the laying out of the city is from the pen of Gen. 
Washington, dated March 11, 1791; and in a letter 
dated April 30, 1791, he calls it the Federal City. 
About four months later, the name which it now 
bears, City of Washington, was adopted by the 
Commissioners appointed to lay it out, probably 
without the knowledge of General Washington. 
The original proprietors of the land, Daniel Carrol, 
Notley Young, David Burns, and Samuel David- 
son, in consideration of the great benefits which 
they expected to derive from the location of the 
seat of Government, conveyed in trust to the Com- 
missioners, for the use of the public and for the 
purpose of establishing the city, the whole of their 
respective lands which were included within the 
lines of the city, upon condition that, after retain- 
ing for the public the ground of the streets, and 
any number of squares that the President might 
think proper for public improvements or other 
public uses, the lots should be equally divided 



^ WASHINGTON. 15 

between the public and the respective proprietors. 
By this means the public obtained possession of 
more than ten thousand lots; from which, in addi- 
tion to a donation of one hundred and ninety-two 
thousand dollars from Virginia and Maryland, 
funds were to be raised to defray the expenses of 
the public buildings, and other necessary objects. 

A French engineer. Major L'Enfant, was em- 
ployed in 1791 to furnish a plan and lay out the 
city; but owing to some difference between him 
and the Commissioners, he was soon dismissed, 
and Mr. Ellicot, in 1792, was appointed. 

A plan for the capitol presented by Dr. William 
Thornton was approved by President Washington 
on the 2d of April, 1792, but it was subsequently 
modified by Mr. G. Hallet. On the 18th of Sep- 
tember, 1793, the corner stone of the north wing 
of the capitol was lai"d with masonic honors, M'hen 
General Washington delivered an appropriate and 
impressive speech. The city was first occupied as 
the seat of the Federal Government in 1800. 

The extent of/ the city is from northwest to south- 
east about four and a half miles, and from east to 
southwest a:bout two miles and a half. The whole 
area of the city is three thousand and sixteen acres, - / * 
and its circumference is fourteen miles. The 
positions for the public edifices are generally eli- 
gible and convenient. The stree'ts of the city run 
north and south, and east and west. These streets 



IQ PICTURE OF 

are crossed diagonally by spacious avenues, whicfi 
bear the names of the diiferent States as far ag 
they reach, and are from one hundred and thirty 
to one hundred and sixty feet in width. The other 
streets vary in width from seventy to a hundred 
feet, and are named numerically as they run from 
north to south, and alphabetically when from east 
to west. Some of the avenues ai-e planted with 
trees, and many open spaces and squares are pre- 
served, an.d, with the very large reservation ex- 
tending from the capitol to the river, will afford 
ample space for walks, and when properly laid out, 
cultivated and adorned, will contribute essentially 
to the pleasures as well as health of the citizens. 

It is a historical fact, that even as far back as 
1663, more than a century before the Revolution- 
ary war, the site of the city of Washington was 
laid out, and called Rome. A gentleman by the 
name of Pope was the proprietor of the soil, and 
the Tiber ran through his tract. The stream still 
flows at the foot of the Capitoline H%ll, and has its 
ancient name of fame. Here, also, even when 
these names were not remarkable among the people 
of those days, and when they were not looked 
upon as prophetic, the Indians of many tribes con- 
gregated and deliberated in council. Here they 
regulated their wild government, made treaties, and 
declared war. The legend is true, and General 
Washington, it is supposed, was aware of the fact 



WASHINGTON. I7 

How singularly, then, has this location become 
the seat of a great empire. There is a romance 
around every, even the most common incidents of 
life; and here we find it. Here, where the name 
of Rome, the mighty mistress of a world dead but 
unforgotten, was a familiar word — where even the 
common tillers of the soil recognized its sound, 
and applied it to the mighty forest lands that then 
were here, when in going and returning to their 
daily work they crossed the Tiber — how strangely 
has it happened that here, an empire greater than 
the mother of empires herself, has been estab- 
lished — that on the land called Rome a capitol is 
built, a senate house and a forum — that here a 
bridge spans the Tiber — that here is the mansion 
of a Chief Magistrate, and all the forms and more 
than the shadow of a vast republic. 

Every one will peruse with interest the follow- 
ing sketch of Washington as it was in ]800, from 
the pen of the late Hon. John Cotton Smith, then 
a member of Congress from Connecticut: 

" Our approach to the city was accompanied 
with sensations not easily described. One wing of 
the Capitol only had been erected, which, with the 
President's house, a mile distant from it, both con- 
structed with white sandstone, were shining objects 
in dismal contrast with the scene around them. 
Instead of recognising the avenues and streets por- 
trayed on the plan of the city, not one was visible, 
a4 



18 



PICTURE OF 



unless we except a road with two buildings on' 
each side of it, called the New Jersey avenue. 
The Pennsylvania, leading, as laid down on paper, 
from the capitol to the Presidential mansion, was 
then nearly the whole distance a deep morass, 
covered with alder bushes, which were cut through 
the width of the intended avenue during the then 
ensuing winter. Between the President's house 
and Georgetown a block of houses had been 
erected, which then bore, and may still bear, the 
name of the Six Buildings. There were also two 
other blocks, consisting of two or three dwelling 
houses, in different directions, and now and then 
an insulated wooden habitation; the inteiwening 
spaces, and, indeed, the surface of the city gener- 
ally, being covered with shrub-oak bushes on the 
higher grounds, and on the marshy soil either trees 
or some sort of shrubbery. Nor was the desolate 
aspect of the place a little augmented by a number 
of unfinished edifices at Greenleaf's Point, and on 
an eminence a short distance from it, commenced 
by an individual whose name they bore, but the 
slate of whose funds compelled him to abandon 
them, not only unfinished, but in a ruinous con- 
dition. There appeared to be but two really com- 
lortable habitations in all respects within the bounds 
of the city, one of which belonged to Dudley Car- 
roll, Esq., and the other to Notley Young, who> 
were the former proprietors of a large proportion 



WASHINC^TON. |^ 

of the land appropriated to the city, but who' 
reserved for their own accommodation ground suf-^ 
ficient for gardens and other useful appurtenances. 
The roads in every direction were muddy and 
unimproved. A sidewalk Was attempted in one 
instance by a covering formed of the chips of the 
stones which had been hewed for the capitol. It 
extended but a little way, and was of little value-, 
for in dry weather the sharp fragments cut our 
shoes and in wet weather covered them with white 
mortar. In short, it was a 'new settlement.' The 
houses, with two or three exceptions, had been 
very recently erected, and the operation greatly 
hurried in view of the approaching transfer of the 
National Government. A laudable desire was man- 
ifested by what few citizens and residents there 
tvrere, to render our condition as pleasant as cir- 
cumstances would permit. One of the blocks of 
buildings already mentioned was situated on the 
east side of what was intended for the capitol 
square, and, being chiefly occupied by an exten-^ 
sive and well-kept hotel, accommodated a goodly 
number of the members. Notwithstanding the' 
unfavorable aspect which "Washington presented 
on our arrival, I cannot sufficiently express my 
admiration of its local position. Prom the capitol 
you have a distinct view of its fine undulating sur- 
face, situated at the confluence of the Potomac and 
its eastern branch, the wide expanse of that ma- 



20 PICTURE OF 

jestic river to the bend at Mount Vernon, the 
cities of Alexandria and Georgetown, and the 
cultivated fields and blue hills of Maryland and 
Virginia on either side of the river, the whole con- 
stituting a prospect of surjoassing beauty and 
grandeur. The city has also the inestimable ad- 
vantage of delightful water, in many instances 
flowing from copious springs, and always attain- 
able by digging to a moderate depth; to which may 
be added the singular fact that such is the due ad- 
mixture of loam and clay in the soil of a great 
portion of the city that a house may be built of 
brick made of the earth dug from the cellar; hence 
it was not unusual to see the remains of a brick- 
kiln near the newly erected dwelling house or 
other edifice. In short, when we consider not 
only these advantages, but what, in a national 
point of view, is of superior importance, the loca- 
tion on a fine navigable river, accessible to the 
whole maritime frontier of the United States, and 
yet easily rendered defensible against foreign in- 
vasion; and that, by the facilities of internal navi- 
gation and railways, it may be approached by the 
population of the Western States, and indeed of 
the whole nation, with less inconvenience than any 
other conceivable situation, we must acknowledge 
that its selection by Washington as the perma- 
nent seat of the Federal Government affords a 
striking exhibition of the discernment, wisdom 



WASHINGTON. 21 

and forecast which characterized tliat illustrious 
man. Under this impression, whenever, during the 
six years of my connexion with Congress, the 
question of removing the seat of Government to 
some other place was agitated — and the proposition 
was frequently made — I stood almost alone as a 
northern man in giving my vote in the negative." 

The laws of Maryland and Virginia passed 
prior to 1802, very generally prevail in the juris- 
prudence of the District. 

The soil of Washington and its vicinity is not 
remarkably fertile, except along the margin of the 
streams, but it is very capable of improvement, and 
the mildness of the climate favors a great variety 
of products. In addition to the great staple pro- 
ductions of wheat, Indian corn, tobacco, and po- 
tatoes, both Irish and sweet, almost every variety 
of vegetables and fruits, not excepting the vine, 
may be cultivated to perfection. With these, few 
if any markets in the land, are more richly sup- 
plied than that of Washington. The chmate of 
Washington, thovigh sometimes sudden in its 
changes, is not surpassed in regard to salubrity by 
any in the Union, if in the world. 

Those who would duly estimate the beauty and 
magnificence of the Potomac River, must ascend it, 
particularly from Georgetown to above Harper's 
Ferry, where takes place the junction of the Shen- 
andoah with the main branch, rending asunder the 



22 PICTURE OF 

Blue Ridge, and leaving on either side the broken 
and shattered rocks of immense height, as monu- 
ments of the force that has separated them. 

The waters of this noble river are frequented, 
particularly in the vicinity of Washington, by a 
great variety of the finest wild fowl, among which 
is the canvass-back duck, which feeds upon the 
Vallisneria Americana, found abundant in the 
swamps bordering the Potomac. This fowl is 
justly considered the greatest luxury which can be 
placed upon our tables. Wilson represents it in 
the i-ich, juicy tenderness of its flesh, and its deli- 
cacy of flavor, as unrivalled by the whole of its 
tribe, and those of the Chesapeake and Potomac 
as superior to all others, owing to the abundance 
of their favorite food produced in those rivers. 
The favorite region for the canvass-back is between 
Crany Island, some twenty -five miles below Wash- 
ington, and Analostan Island near Georgetown. 
The numbers have somewhat decreased of late in 
the neighborhood of Washington, owing, doubt- 
less, to the number of sharp shooters, who, in the 
winter and spring, are constantly in pursuit of them. 
Formerly, these ducks were only shot from the 
shore ; but of late years large numbers have been 
killed by persons who approach them in small 
skiffs, with long guns of large calibre, and who 
kill great numbers by a single discharge. Among 
other varieties of water fowl may also be mentioned 



WASHINGTON. 23 

the swan, the wild goose, the red-head shoveler, the 
black-head shoveler, the duck and mallard, the black 
duck, the blue wing teal, and the widgeon. The swan 
frequents a section of the river about thirty miles be- 
low Washington. In the lower portions of the river 
wild geese are abundant. There is also found in 
the marshes along the Potomac a bird less than the 
snipe, called in Virginia the sora, and in Pennsyl- 
vania the rail, and sometimes, though improperly, 
in the middle States, ortolan. It is seen but for a 
few weeks, arriving early in September, and de- 
parting in October. Its natural history is obscure, 
but it is much sought for by sportsmen and con- 
stitutes a great delicacy. 

The shad and herring fisheries on the Potomac 
are sources of wealth to their owners, and of great 
public benefit. Rock fish are excellent and abun- 
dant, oysters plenty and of the finest quality, and, 
to the taste of many, the sturgeon is worthy a 
place on the choicest table. 

Among the numerous Halls designed and adapted 
for public meetings, are Odd Fellows' Hall, on 
seventh street, between the General Post Office and 
Pennsylvania avenue ; Jackson Hall, on Penn. av., 
between 3d and 4i streets ; Temperance Hall, on E 
St., bet. 9th and 10th ; Carusi's Saloon, on the 
corner of C and 11th sts.; Washington Hall, on 
Pennsylvania avenue, corner of 6th street ; and the 
Washington Assembly Rooms on Louisiana ave- 



24 PICTURE OF 

nue, near the City Hall ; all of which are spacious 
and convenient edifices. 

The City Hall, after a handsome plan by George 
Hadfield, was commenced in 1820. Commanding a 
fine view in front, to the south, at the head of 4| 
street, on Louisiana avenue, this Hall has through 
the liberal appropriation of ^30,000 by Congress 
the last year, risen from its miserable half-formed 
condition into architectural beauty, and the south- 
ern front, with the wings, is now complete, and 
when in all parts.it shall be finished it cannot fail 
to be regarded as worthy of the metropolis of the 
Union. The circuit and criminal courts hold their 
sessions in this hall. In the eastern wing are the 
rooms of attorneys and the different ofiicers con- 
nected with the court. In the western wing are 
the offices of the mayor and corporation. A beau- 
tiful model of what this hall is to be when finished, 
adorned by porticoes, pillars, and piazzas, is depos- 
ited in the western wing, and the design is that the 
whole edifice shall be stuccoed so as to resemble 
marble. The proposed length of the front is two 
hundred feet. 

The City Post Office is in a convenient building 
on seventh street adjoining the General Post Office. 
It is open daily, from eight A. M. to nine P. M., 
except when assorting the mail, and on Sunday, 
when it is open from eight to nine A. M., from 
twelve to one, and from eight to nine P. M. 



VVASHINGTON. ^5 

The Washington Asxjlum for the destitute is a 
large and convenient brick building, situated near 
the Congressional burying ground, and surrounded 
by an ample garden cultivated by such of the in- 
mates as are able to labor. It is under the man^ 
agement of a Board of Commissioners. An in- 
tendant, matron, and other necessary agents are 
appointed by the Mayor and Board of Commis- 
sioners} who have adopted judicious regulations for 
the conduct of the Institution. One hundred and 
ninety-six destitute and infirm persons were re- 
lieved in the asylum during the year ending June 
30, 1847. 

A City Infirmanj, in the rear of the City 
Hall, has recently been opened. Congress hasi 
made an annual appropriation of two thousand 
dollars for the support of unfortunate strangers 
who in sickness may desire to find a refuge within 
its walls. Several young gentlemen of the Medical 
School are constantly in attendance — while the 
inmates enjoy daily the visits and counsels of the 
ablest physicians. 

The Jail of this city is a large brick building of 
Gothic form, three stories high, colored to resemble 
stone, and is well adapted to its purpose. It is situat- 
ed a little to the north of the City Hall. And both 
this and the City Infirmary are on Reservation nine* 
The Orphan Asylum was erected nearly twenty 
years ago, on what is called Mausoleum square j 



26 I'TCTURE OF* 

and was largely indebted for its existence to the 
generosity of the late admirable and truly christian 
lady, Mrs. Van Ness. A society of benevolent 
ladies was formed in 1815 for the purpose of giving 
protection and aid to orphans, and Mrs. Madison 
v.'-as appointed first directress. Mrs, Van Ness 
became her successor, a!nd for several years devo- 
ted herself, with remarkable zeal and liberality, to 
the interests of those sneltered beneath the wings 
of this society. The association was incorporated 
by act of Congress in 1828. On the same square 
with the asylum stands an imposing mausoleum 
erected by General John P. Van Ness, in which 
are interred the remains of David Burns' family, 
and since, those of the family of General Van 
Ness, including those of his lamented daughter, 
Mrs. Middleton, and his accomplished lady. This 
mausoleum is said to be a copy of the temple of 
Vesta at Rome. 

The St. Vincent^s Orphan Jlsylum, at the intersec- 
tion of G and 10th streets has been rebuilt on a 
noble scale, and is liberally sustained by the Ro- 
man Catholics. It is one among many of the 
striking evidences of the zeal and resolution with 
which the members of this communion devote them- 
selves to what they regard as works of charity and 
[)iety. 

The Market Housea are four in number. Tiie 
Centrp Market, on Pennsylvania avenuf, isproba- 



WASHINGTON. 27 

bly not excelled in the abundance and quality of 
its supplies by any in the Union. 

Hotels and Boarding Houses in Washington are 
numerous and excellent: Among them may be 
mentioned Gadsby's, at the corner of Pennsylvania 
Avenue and Third street. Brown's, with a marble 
front; the National, (Calvert's,) Pennsylvania 
Avenue and Sixth street; the United States, 
(Willard's,) at the intersection of 14th street and 
Pennsylvania Avenue; the Irving House, (Tho- 
mas',) Pennsylvania Avenue and Twelfth street; 
Dorset's, on Seventh street; the Exchange, on C 
street; and Beer's Temperance Hotel, on Third 
street. The number of respectable boarding houses is 
large. Owing to the great number of strangers who 
visit Washington during the session of Congress, the 
demand for accommodations is great, and new and 
well directed efforts are annually made to supply it. 
Those who are best competent to judge on the sub- 
ject, areof opinion that the number of hotels atpresent 
is rather deficient than excessive, and it is probable 
that each successive year will witness a large aug- 
mentation in the number who may resort to Wash- 
ington for purposes of business, improvement, or 
pleasure. 

Ptihlic Schools. — Great efforts have been made 
recently to increase the number, and improve the 
chfirncter of the public schools. The public schools 
of Washington, are now conducted essentiaily on 



28 PICTURE Oi' 

the same principles, as those in the larger towns of 
Massachusetts. They are divided into primary 
and district schools, with a high school, to go into 
operation during the present year. The primary 
schools are fifteen, taught by seventeen females and 
three males, and the district schools, four, taught 
by four male principal teachers, and three female, 
and two male assistants — in all twenty-nine teachers, 
to each of whom is assigned seventy pupils. In a 
portion of the primary schools, females are only 
received; in others males; and in the remainder, 
males and females. Wherever the sexes are sepa- 
rated in these schools , teachers and parents have found 
increased satisfaction. The expense of these pub- 
lic schools is about $12,000, of which $3,000 is 
derived from the interest of the school fund, about 
|5,000 from the capitation tax, and the remainder 
from the general fund of the city. The following 
general summary is taken from the late Report of 
the Board of Trustees: 

Number of District Schools 4 

Do. Primary Schools 15 

Do. Male Principals of District Schools 4 

Do. Male Assistants in District Schools 2 

Do. Female Assistants in District 

Schools 3 

Do. Male Teachers of Primary Schools 3 

Do. Female Teachers of Primary 

Schools 12 



WASHINGTON. 29 

Number of Female Assistants in Primary- 
Schools 5 

Do. Pupils at the commencement of 

the school year 1,456 

Do. Pupils at the end of the school 

year 1,889 

Whole nvunber admitted through the year.. 2,611 

Average attendance 1,397 

Number of schools or apartments in which 

boys only are received 6 

Do. schools or apartments in which 

girls only are received 4 

Do. schools or apartments in which 

boys and girls are received 12 

Do. months taught by the teachers in 

all the schools last year 292 

Do. months lost by absence of pupils 

(being nearly one-eighth of the 
school time, and two schools not 

being reported.) 37 

Many Schools and Seminaries for the education of 
both sexes exist in different parts of the city, seve- 
ral of them of a high and well established charac- 
ter, where instruction in all the usual branches of 
knowledge can be obtained for a reasonable com- 
pensation. Among these should be mentioned, for 
young ladies, the schools of the Rev. Mr. Noble 
on Thirteenth street — the Rev. Mr. Cushman's, on 
Louisiana Avenue, near the City Hall — the Rev 



30 PICTURE OF 

Mr. Clark's, corner of Ninth and E streets — the 
Misses Tyson's, on F street — the CathoUc Institu- 
tion, on the same — and for boys, the Rev. James 
Nourse's Central Academy, corner of Tenth and E 
streets — Mr. Morrison's seminary, near Franklin 
Row — Philip's Academy on C street — the acade- 
■*• my of Mr. Wight, Indiana Avenue — and the 
school in connexion with the church of the Ro- 
man Catholics, on F street. Public attention is 
strongly directed to these institutions, and perhaps 
in no other city are there to be found superior ad- 
vantages of education, which are annually on the 
increase. There are also several excellent board- 
ing schools. 

The Washington Library is owned by an associa- 
tion of citizens, and was incorporated by Congress 
in 1814. The number of volumes belonging to this 
library is above six thousand, and many of the 
works are valuable, and embrace a great variety in 
the departments of letters and science. Sharehold- 
ers are entitled to take books from this library un- 
der certain restrictions; and a Board of Directors, 
who elect annually a president, treasurer, and libra- 
rian, manage the affairs of the Institution. This 
library is open daily from three to six P. M. in a 
building owned by the company on eleventh street 
west, a few doors south of Pennsylvania Avenue. 

The Ubrary of Peter Force, Esq., is one of the 
most rare and valuable in the United States. This 



WASHINGTON. 3| 

gentleman has greatly distinguished himself in his 
researches and labors to compile the Documentary- 
History of the United States, and has spared no 
pains nor expense to collect all works, as well as 
all curious manuscripts which may serve to illus- 
trate the times and characters which such a history 
should represent. This library of Mr. Force ex- 
tends to some 25,000 or 30,000 volumes, and is 
probably the most rich in materials for American 
history and biography of any in the world. 

Mr. Charles King's Gallery of Paintings, on 
Twelfth street, near F, will be found in a neat edi- 
fice erected for it by the excellent artist, its pro- 
prietor, and is highly attractive, embracing in two 
apartments more than two hundred and sixty paint- 
ings, among them portraits of distinguished per- 
sons, and a number of them works of great merit, 
Mr. King has exhibited much taste in the arrange- 
ment of his paintings, and many of them the pro- 
ductions of his own pencil, are admirably executed. 

Mr. Gibson has been much distinguished by one 
or two panoramas, and some paintings of high ex- 
cellence. Mr. William M'Leod, a young landscape 
painter, who has risen by the force of his genius to 
distinction, since the last edition of chis work, has 
removed to New York. Mr. ./. Wilson, who cut 
very beautiful cameos, and has recently shown 
extraordinary talent for sculpture, is about to em- 
bark for Italy to pursue his studies in his chosen 



32 PICTURE OF 

arts. He is a young artist of the highest promise. 
Capt. Eastman has produced many pictures, par- 
ticularly of western scenery and Indian Ufe, of 
great merit, and from them are derived nag,ny of 
the illustrations that adorn the great work of 
Henry Schoolcraft on Indian history, character 
and manners. Mr. Arthur Stansbury takes sketches 
of persons and scenery with great accuracy and 
spirit. Mr. William J. Stone has shown great abil- 
ity in sculpture and intends to devote his life to the 
art. Various accompUshed artists generally visit 
and reside in the city during the winter season. 

Mr. Chauncey Warriner is the inventor of the 
self-acting meteorological register, which includes 
in one and the same instrument a chronometer, 
rain gauge, tide measurer, thermometer, barom- 
eter, and a contrivance to measure and mark the 
velocity of the wind. This machine registers its 
own operations and is very ingenious. Mr. War- 
riner is at present occupied in making improve- 
ments in the machines for the telegraph company, 
and has shown remarkable mechanical powers. 

Mr. Frederick Russell, a citizen of Washington, 
has devoted much time and thought to the con- 
struction of an instrument designed to illustrate 
the various motions of the heavenly bodies. He 
has given to this instrument the name of the Urano- 
scope, and the following description of its move- 
ments and uses has been published : 



WASHINGTON. 33 

"The Uranascope is in the form of a sphere, of 
more than five feet in diameter, composed of metal 
rods or bars, so arranged as to represent all the 
meridians, parallels of latitude, and primary circles 
usually marked on artificial globes. If the room in 
which the instrument is shown have a vaulted 
ceiUng, and all other light be excluded from it, ex- 
cept that which comes from a lamp fixed in the 
centre of the globe, the exhibition of the various 
planetary phenomena will be beautifully distinct 
and perfect. The meridians and circles will make 
defined shadows on the face of the vault, while the 
sun, moon, stars, and planets of various magni- 
tudes will, on the contrary, cast upon it their ra- 
diant reflection. A transparent covering, upon 
which are painted several hundred stars and the 
figures of tVe constellations, may be thrown over 
the globe at pleasure, and thus the vaulted ceiling 
becomes at once a perfect representation of the 
celestial hemisphere. By means of the machinery, 
its natural motion is given to the earth, and all the 
phenomena of the rising and setting of the heavenly 
bodies are brought before the beholder. Every 
object is seen in its appropriate place ; and by 
changing the machinery, which consists of many 
varieties, to be substituted at pleasure, a better 
illustration than it is possible to give in words, is 
shown of the precession of the equinoxes, the equation 
of time, the eccentricities of the comet, and many 



34 PICTURE OF 

other phenomena which no other instrument could 
adequately explain. Besides the phenomena already 
mentioned, it may be used to illustrate the aspect 
of the heavens as seen from the earth in every lati- 
tude ; the apparent annual course of the sun through 
the signs of the zodiac ; the moon through her 
monthly course ; her retrogade motion of nodes, 
and what are called harvest moons ; eclipses in all 
their varieties ; acceleration of the stars ; comets in 
every form of ellipse ; the revolution of the double 
stars ; and, indeed, a very full and accurate view 
of the various changes in the heavens." It is 
hoped that the Smithsonian Institution or some 
seminary of science may enable Mr. Russel to con- 
struct his instrument on an ample scale, and show 
all its advantages. 

POPULATION OF WASHINGTON, 
According to the Census of 1850. 

Whites 29,815 

Free Colored 8,073 

Slaves 2,113 

Total 40,001 

CHURCHES. 
BAPTIST. 

First— Rev. S. P. Hill, 10th street west, between 
E and F north. 

Second — Rev. , corner of 4| street 

east and Virginia avenue. 



W A S H r N G T O N . 35 

E Street — Rev. , E street north, 

between 6th and 7th west. 

Shiloh — Rev. , Virginia avenue, be- 

twee 4| and 6th streets west, near Navy Yard. 

CATHOLIC. 

St. Mathew's — Rev. James B. Donelan, H street 
north, between ]4th and 15th west. 

St. Patrick's— Very Rev. Wm. Mathews, and M. 
Slattery, assistant, F street north, between 9th and 
10th west. 

St. Peter's — Rev. Mr. Lanahan, 2d street east, 
between C and D south. 

St. Mary's— Rev. Mr. Alig, 5th street west, be- 
tween G and H. 

EPISCOPAL. 

Christ — Rev. W. Hodges, G. street south, be- 
tween 6th and 7th east. 

Church of the Ascension — Rev. Levin Gilh's, H 
street north, between 9th and 10th west. 

Church of the Epiphaiiy — Rev. John W. French, 
G street north, between 13th and 14th west. 

St. John's — Rev. Smith Pine, corner of 16th street 
west, and H street north. 

Trinity— Rev. C. M. Butler, D. D., corner of 3d 
street west and C street north. 

FRIENDS. 

I Street, north side, between 18th and 19th 



36 PICTURE OF 

LUTHERAN. 

English — Rev. Mr. Butler, corner of 11th street 
west, and H street north. 

German — Rev. Mr. Finckle, G street north, be- 
tween 19th and 20th street west. 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL. 

Ebenezer — Rev. Thomas Myers, 4th street east, 
between F and G south. 

Foundry — Rev. L. F. Morgan, corner of 14th 
street west and G street north. 

Wesley Chapel — Rev. W. B. Edwards, corner of 
F street north and 5th street west. 

McKendree Chapel — Rev. Wm. Hamihon, Mas- 
sachusetts avenue, near 9th street west. 

Ryland Chapel — Rev. J. S. Gorsuch, corner of 
Maryland avenue and 10th street west. 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL SOUTH. 

Rev. Mr. Bennett, 8th street north, between H 
and I west. 

METHODIST PROTESTANT. 

Rev. W. T. Eva, 9th street west, between E and 
F north. 

Rev. , corner of Virginia avenue and 

5th street east. 

PRESBYTERIAN. 

First — Rev. Mr. Ballatine, 4| street west, between 
C and D north. 



WASHINGTON. 37 

Second — Rev. J. R. Eckard, between New York 
avenue and H street north, and between 13th and 
14th streets west. 

F Street — Rev. James Laurie, D. D., and Rev. 
D. junkin Christian, F street north, between 14lh 
and 15th streets west. 

Fourth — Rev. John C. Smith, 9th street west, 
between G and H streets north. 
Unitarian. 

Rev. Mr. Dewey, corner of D street north and 
6th street west. 



38 PICTURE OF 



BURIAL GROUNDS. 

Generations pass while somfe trees stand, and old families 
last not three oaks. Oblivion is not to be hired. The greater 
part must be content to be as though they had not been ; to 
be found in the register of God, not in the record of man. 
Twenty-seven names make up the first storj- before the flood, 
and the recorded names ever since contain not one living 
century. — Sir Thomas Browne. 

In the vicinity of the city are several neat and 
convenient cemeteries. Western Burial ground, 
situated at the northern extremity of twentieth street, 
a little east of Rock Creek, is a quiet attractive spot, 
where grief may wander unmolested, and sad affec- 
tion gather solace from the kindly aspect and gentle 
ministeries of nature. 

The National or Congressional Burial Ground, 
is more imposing. This spot was selected in the 
year 1807, by a few of the citizens of Washington, 
and subsequently was placed under the direction of 
the vestry of Christ Church, an incorporated body. 
This cemetery is situated more than a mile east of 
the Capitol, embraces about ten acres, commands an 
extensive view of the country, is well enclosed with 
a brick wall, laid out with taste, and adorned with 
many shrubs and trees and impressive and beautiful 
monuments. In addition to several private vaults, 
is one spacious and well constructed, enclosed by a 



?!-- 







■f 






u 



.¥ 



IP'. 



WASHINGTON. 39 

neat iron railing, built at the expense and by order 
of Congress, as a place of deposite for the dead, 
whose remains it may be the purpose of friends 
subsequently to remove. Measures have been 
adopted to enlarge this cemetery, and some twenty 
acres additional will soon be brought within its 
limits. It is hoped that the entire enclosure may 
contain not less than fifty acres, and that the whole 
area may be planted and adorned with the good 
taste and judgment which render the cemeteries of 
Mount Auburn and Greenwood, so inviting to pen- 
sive minds. 

" Tis too late," says a venerable old author, " to 
be ambitious. The great mutations of the world 
are acted, or time may be too short for our designs. 
To extend our memories by monuments, whose 
death we daily pray for, and whose duration we 
cannot hope, without injury to our expectations in 
the advent of the last day, were a contradiction to 
our belief. We whose generations are ordained in 
the setting part of time are providentially broken 
off from such imaginations, and, being necessi- 
tated to eye the remaining particle of futurity, are 
naturally constituted unto thoughts of the next 
world, and cannot excusably decline the considera- 
tion of that duration which maketh pyramids pillars 
of snow, and all that is past a monument." But 
human affections are stronger than argument, and 
will be found reai'ing monuments until old Time 



40 PICTURE OF 

himself is entombed among the ruins of the uni- 
verse. 

Two of the most imposing and expensive monu- 
Tnents in this cemetery are those erected to the 
memories of George Clinton, by his children, and 
to Elbridge Gerry, by order of Congress. These 
are in the northeast corner. In the southwest cor- 
ner ate several handsome, and some of them re- 
cently erected, monuments. Among them is a 
fine marble shaft standing upon a square pedestal, 
reared by Congress to the memory of Major Gene- 
ral Jacob Brown, born m Bucks county, Pennsyl- 
vania, May 5th, 1775, died 24th February, 1828. 
" By birth, by education, by principle, devoted to 
peace. In defence of his country and in vindica- 
tion of her rights, a wai-rior. To her he dedicated 
his life ; wounds received in her cause abridged his 
days." Here also stands an imposing marble 
monument, erected by the officers of the medical 
staff to the memory of Joseph Lovel, M. D., for 
many years Surgeon General of the army of the 
United States, born in 1788, died in 1836. A pyra- 
midal monument, erected by his father. Commo- 
dore Rogers, is inscribed to Midshipman Rogers, 
who was drowned at the early age of seventeen, 
while engaged in noble efforts to save the lives of 
two of his companions, Midshipman Slidell and 
Harrison, who perished with him in 1828. A 
single marble monument is dedicated to the memo- 



WASHINGTON. 4| 

ries of Abel Parker Upshur and Commodore Bev- 
erly Kennon, bearing the following inscription : 
«• The lamented men who lie together beneath this 
stone where united by the ties of friendship, which 
commenced in youth, and experienced no interrup- 
tion till the awful moment when the lives of both 
were terminated by the explosion of the great gun 
of the Princeton frigate : United in life, in death 
they were not divided." A very fine white marble 
monument, made to represent exactly the mast of a 
ship violently broken off, is reared to the memory 
of the late George Mifflin Bache, of the brig 
Washington, and his associates who perished with 
him in the hurricane of September 3, 1846. " The 
gulf stream which they were engaged in exploring 
has received their bodies ; this monument has been 
erected to their memory by their shipmates who 
shared their perils, but escaped their fate." One 
of the most beautiful and touching memorials of 
aflfection is a marble monument reared to com- 
memorate the virtues of Captain Burdell Ashton 
Tei-rett, United States dragoons, who died at Fort 
Scott, Missouri, March 17, 1845. It bears on one 
side, " my husband," and a brief tribute conclud- 
ing "and thy memory to me what the dew is to 
the rose ;" on the other, " Our boy : Died at Fort 
Scott, Missouri, March 15, 1845, James Bludworth 
Terrett, aged one month : Suffer little children to 
come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is 



42 PICTURE OF 

the kingdom of Heaven." Among the other monu- 
ments of striking interest, and chaste and beautiful 
design, may be mentioned one erected by Peter 
Von Schmidt to " Mariana," his wife, a native of 
Courtland, in Russia ; one of marble and granite, 
inscribed to " Mary Ann," and several children of 
Charles Coltman ; one of very fine proportions 
sacied to "Eliza, wife of G. C. Grammer ;" a 
granite one to the late Judge Thurston ; one to 
Judge Pendleton Barbour, adorned by many shrubs 
and flowers ; and one of peculiar simplicity and 
elegance, dedicated to " our father," by the children 
of Peter Lenox. 

Here in this secluded spot, this abode of silence, 
rest the remains of many members of Congress, 
and over the grave of each is erected a plain sand- 
stone monument, painted white, and marked with 
the name of the deceased, also specifying the State 
from which he came, and the time of his death. 
We paused a moment as we read the names of 
Pinckney and of Lowndes, whose eloquent voices 
so often enchained their audiences with delight 
and admiration. The Roman poet would have 
inscribed over these great men, Palma nobilis terra- 
rum Dominos evehit ad Deos ; but perhaps the re- 
flection of Job is more becoming this house ap- 
pointed for all the living : " He leadeth princes 
away spoiled and overthroweth the mighty." Let 
our statesmen, amid the excitement of public life, 



WASHINGTON. 43 

seek occasional retirement from the capitol, to 
meditate among the shaded walks of this cemetery, 
and these thickening emblems of mortality, that, 
in the deep silence and amid the graves of the dead, 
they may learn wisdom. Within view of the 
dome of the capitol, they will call to mmd the lines 
of nature's great poet — 



"Like the baseless fabric of this vision, 
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces. 
The solemn temples, the great globe itself, 
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve. 
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, 
Leave not a rack behind." 



It may be proper to add, that this Burial Ground 
has recently been much enlarged and improved by 
the addition of the square immediately to the south, 
thus extending the ground to the top of the hill which 
overlooks the Eastern Branch, and the beautiful and 
rapidly improving grounds that lie on the opposite 
side of that river. Ground has also been pur- 
chased from the United States, with the view of 
extending the cemetery 286 feet farther east ; and 
from its position it is capable of being so adorned, as 
to render this cemetery among the most interesting 
and attractive in the Union. The books and plans of 
the ground are kept with care, in order to prevent any 



44 PICTURE OF 

encroachment upon sites that have been sold. This 
cemetery is the pki,ce of repose (o many dis- 
tinguished strangers, and about 6,000 persons have 
been here interred. 



CAPITOL, 

TJie Capitol of the United States stands on an 
eminence, eighty-seven feet above tide water, about 
a mile east of the Potomac, commanding a full 
view of the cities of Washington, Georgetown, 
and Alexandria, and the varied and forest-clad hills 
in Maryland and Virginia. This building was 
commenced in 1793. The dimensions are as fol- 
lows : The enclosure within the iron railing contains 
thirty acres ; length of foot-walk outside of railing 
a little upwards of one r^^ile ; extent of building, 
one acre and a half, and eighteen hundred and 
twenty feet ; length of front, 352^ feet ; depth of 
wing, 121 5 ; east projection and steps, 65 ; west 
projection and steps, 83 ; height of wings to top of 
balustrade, 70 ; height to top of centre dome, 145 ; 
length of Senate chamber, 74 ; height of Senate 
chamber, 42 ; length of Representatives' room, 95 ; 
height of Representatives' room, 60; height of 
great central rotundo to the commencement of the 
small curve, 96 ; to the skylight, 122^ ; diameter of 
great central Rotundo, 96. The cost of the Capitoit 






-^t 



^-^ 



r^i 



.J-^ 



«Mf 






^^,f^-' "M 




r 

r- 



')r'^ 



WASHINGTON, 45 

Was nearly two millions of dollars. The building 
is surrounded by a balustrade of stone, and covered 
with a lofty dome in the centre, and a flat dome on 
each wing. 

The exterior presents a rusticated basement of 
the height of the first story ; the two other stories 
are comprised in a Corinthian elevation of pilasters 
and columns. The columns are thirty feet in 
height, and compose a portico on the eastern front 
of one hundred and sixty feet in extent, the centre 
of which is crowned by a tympanum, embellished 
with a group of statuary, the composition of John 
Gluincy Adams, then President of the United 
States, offered by him after forty designs had been 
rejected. The Genius of America, a. colossal figure, 
holds in her right hand an oval shield, resting 
lightly on a slender altar, on the front of which is 
an oaken wreath in bas relief with the words "July 
4, 1776," within it. A spear rests behind, a star 
surmounts her head, which is turned towards the 
figure of Hope, who gazes with smiling animation, 
and, while her left arm rests on an anchor, lifts her 
right in exultation, and as though anticipating the 
glory of the republic. The Genius points with one 
hand to her shield and spear, and with the other to 
Justice having in her hand the constitution of the 
Uniied States. Justice, with eyes raised towards 
heaven, holds in her right hand the constitution, and 
in her left the scales emblematical of her office ; 

b2 



WASHINGTON. 47 

and she has neither bandage nor sword, showing 
that with us justice is clear-sighted respecting the 
rights of all. The moral is that America will re- 
gard only public rights and the preservation of the 
constitution. An eagle, finished with great teauty, 
is at the feet of the Genius, its head is raised and 
its wings partly expanded, as if ready to fly at her 
command. This group was executed by Persico. 

On the southern abutment of the grand steps is 
Persico 's group, the Discovery of America. It consists 
of two marble figures^ — Columbus, having landed for 
the first time upon the shores of America, and an In- 
dian female startled at the appearance of a stranger 
of an unknown race. The group well represents the 
character of Columbus, the contrast between the 
European and the Indian, and the triumph of sci- 
ence and perseverance in the discovery of a new 
world ; while it but too clearly foreshadows the 
fading away of the red men before the face of the 
whites. The armor upon the statue of Columbus 
is said to be accurate to a rivet, having been copied 
from a suit in the palace of the descendants of the 
discoverer at Genoa. Persico was employed five 
years upon this group. 

On the north side of the great entrance door from 
the Portico to the Rotundo, stands the statue of 
War, also by Persico. It is made of Carrara 
marble, and is about nine feet high. War is rep- 
resented in the costume of an ancient warrior. 







illlKnilMiiiilllllllilMlllllHillllllllllli!l llllllli:iiiiillliiniliiiliHiiiiiii|iN|iiiiiiiiMniiiiiimii!»iii|im 

i|Mi^i7flTnT™!lTTMTTllIWTri'in^^ 



11',- 
If 



OOLITMBUS. 



WASHINGTON. 49 

His helmet presses upon his brow, and his breast 
is covered with the iron corslet. He leans with 
his right hand upon his shield, and with his left 
brings his sword up to his heart, across which it 
lies in readiness for combat. His eyes are lowering 
with anger, and his whole attitude indicates a 
roused and excited temper. There is, however, 
nothing fierce in the expression. A manly sense 
of power and right, and calm indignation, seem to 
pervade the figure. The finish given to this statue 
is very high. 

On the other side of the door stands the beatific 
figure of Peace. The maiden, clothed in a simple 
garb, is in the act of extending the olive branch to 
her warlike brother. A smile of calm and sublime 
repose hovers about her eyes, and her attitude is 
one of simple and guileless innocence. 

Entering the Rotundo the beholder is struck by 
its extent, height, and beautiful proportions. The 
panels of this magnificent circular hall are appro- 
priated to paintings and to bas-reUefs of historical 
subjects. 

Four of the panels of the Rotundo are occupied 
by Trumbull's great Historical Paintings, which 
merit more than a passing notice. Colonel Trum- 
bull, the artist, a son of the first Governor Trum- 
bull, of Lebanon, Connecticut, was one of the 
aids-de-camp of General Washington in the first 
year of the Revolution, and in 1776 was Deputy 

b3 




WAR. 




PEAOJS. 



52 PICTURE OF 

Adjutant General of the northern department under 
General Gates. Shortly after the Revolution he 
devoted himself to the study of the art of painting, 
first in this country, and afterwards in Europe, 
In 1786 he produced in London his great historical 
picture of the battle of Bunker's Hill. He com- 
municated at that time to our Minister in London, 
Mr. John Adams, and Mr. Jefferson in Paris, his 
purpose of executing several pictures commem- 
orative of some of the principal events of the Rev- 
olution. 

In 1789 Colonel Trumbull returned to the United 
States, and having obtained the portraits of General 
Washington, and several other distinguished men 
then in New York, he subsequently visited many 
parts of the country to collect others; but it was 
not until 1816, that Congress by resolution author- 
ized the execution of the four paintings which now, 
from his pencil, adorn the capitol, and will trans- 
mit to coming generations a vivid and correct view 
of the patriots whose valor and wisdom secured 
independence to the United States. 

Declaration of Independence. — The artist spared 
neither labor nor expense to present correct like- 
nesses of the great men who gave this immortal 
instrument to the world. Tlie costume of the time 
is carefully preserved; the room is copied from 
that in which Congress then held their sessions, 
though the back-ground is embellished with som^^ 



WASFIINGTON. 53 

military trophies, and the entire scene is one of the 
most impressive that can be imagined. 

Surrender of Burgoyne, 11th October, 1777.— This 
painting represents General Burgoyne, attended by 
General Phillips, and followed by other officers, 
drawing near the marquee of General Gates. , Gen. 
Gates has advanced a few steps from the entrance 
to meet his prisoner, who, with General Phillips, 
has dismounted, and is in the act of offering his 
sword, which General Gates declines to receive, 
and invites them to enter and partake of refresh- 
ments. Fish Creek and the North river are seen 
in the distance, and troops crossing the meadows, 
and officers on horseback precede the head of the 
column and follow the dismounted Generals. 

Surrender of Lord CornwaUis at Yorktown, October 
19, 1781. — Lord CornwaUis surrendered to the 
combined forces of America and France, and the 
honor of marching out of town, which had been 
refused to General Lincoln, when he surrendered 
during the preceding campaign at Charleston, was 
denied him. The British troops marched out be- 
tween the lines of the American and French troops 
to a place appointed, grounded and left their arms, 
and returned unarmed to town. "The painting 
represents the moment when the principal officers 
of the British army, conducted by General Lin- 
coln, are passing the two groups of American and 
French Generals, and entering between the two 

b4 



54 PICTURE OF 

lines of the victors. By this means the principal 
officers of the three nations are brought near to- 
gether, so as to admit of distinct portraits. The 
portraits of the French officers were obtained in 
Paris in 1787, and were painted from living men 
in the house of Mr. Jefferson, then Minister to 
France." 

Resignation of General Washington at Annapolis, 
December 23, 1783. — After bidding farewell to his 
old comrades in the war, General Washington 
hastened to Annapolis, and there resigned his com- 
mission to Congress. The Maryland Gazette, in 
allusion to the resignation by General Washington, 
remarked : '* Here we must let fall the scene — few 
tragedies ever drew more tears from so many 
beautiful eyes, as were affected by the moving 
manner in which his Excellency took his final 
leave of Congress. After which he immediately 
set out for Virginia, accompanied to South river, 
by his excellency our Governor, with the warmest 
wishes of the city for his repose, health, and hap- 
piness. Long may he enjoy them." 

Besides Trumbull's four paintings, are three 
others, leaving still one vacant panel. 

Baptism of Pocahontas. — This picture is by Mr. 
J. G. Chapman, and represents a beautiful inci- 
dent in the life of one whose history will ever be 
interesting to Americans, and whd^is said to have 
been the first convert to the Christian faith from the 



4 WAStllNGTON. 55 

Indians of North America. *' Pocahontas is kneel- 
ing on the steps of the rude baptismal font, in an 
attitude of deep humihty and devotion; her dress is 
pure white, with a snowy mantle of swan's skin, 
tipped with plumage, just falling from her shoul- 
ders. Her hair flows negligently over her neck 
and back, and her features and complexion are 
those of the Indian, though less beautiful than she 
is said to have been in life." A beautiful portrait 
of her is preserved in Colonel M'Kenney's work 
on the Indians. The chapel in which the scene 
occurs is copied from one of the earliest rustic 
churches. Pocahontas was well instructed in Chris- 
tianity, and Smith relates, that " after her baptism 
she never had a desire to live with her father or his 
people, who would by no means turn from their 
idolatry, that thereby they might confess the true 
faith, which she embraced with all her heart, from 
that time mourning her former blindness and im- 
becility. Her poor dear father, she said, altlwugh 
at times, he was not angry with her, yet would by 
no means give up an idolatrous religion to which 
he had been so long used." 

Eiabarkation of the Pilgrims. — This picture, by 
Weir, represents a scene of pathetic interest, when 
the pilgrim fathers of New England have just 
embarked from a port of Holland on their high en- 
terprize, and the venerable Robinson is commend- 
ing them to Heaven, when about to spread their 



56 PICTURE OF 

sails for the new world. Religion is the presiding 
vspirit of the scene, though Standish kneels like a 
soldier , and the whole company seem of those whose 
fear of God has expelled all other fear. One is re- 
minded of the fine lines by Mrs. Hemans — 

Not as the conqueror comes, 

Thej-, the true hearted, caine ; 
Not with the roll of the stirring drums, 

And the trumpet that sings of fame ; 

Not as the flying come, 

In silence and in fear ; 
Tiiey shook the depths of the desert gloom. 

With their hymns of lofty cheer. 

The Landing of Columbus in the J^ew World. — 
This picture is by Vanderlyn, and, though diffe- 
rent opinions have been, expressed of its merits, all 
must be struck with the resolution and devotion 
blended in the aspect of Columbus, as he bears the 
standard of civilization, and points the sword of 
authority tow^ards the earth, dedicating, with uplift- 
ed eye towards heaven, the new world to the Divine 
Author of Christianity. 

Over each of the four entrances to the Rotundo 
is sculptured, in a panel, a scene from American 
history. Over the northern door leading to the 
Senate Chamber, is a representation of William 
Penn; under a spreading elm, engaged in making a 



^^^^^^^si rp^^x^^^^-^T^ 




PEWN-'S TREATY. 



BOONE & INDIANS. 



58 PICTURE OF 

treaty with the Indiana. This work is by Gesze- 
lot, a Frenchman. 

On the panel over the southern door, leading to 
the Hall of the House of Representatives, is Daniel 
Boone, the hero and pioneer of Kentucky, engaged 
in conflict with the Indians. The figures are of 
colossal size. Boone's aspect is calm and intrepid; 
the face of the Indian in combat, ferocious; and at 
the feet of the warriors is the form of a dead In- 
dian, which is thought admirably to express the 
proud spirit of a fallen savage, unsubdued even in 
death. This is by Causici. Some years ago, a 
band of Winnebagos came through the Rotundo. 
They were all noble looking fellows, dressed in 
their own barbaric uniform. Their faces were 
painted of various colors, in their belts were their 
scalping knives and tomahawks, and over their 
backs their long iron-looking bows and arrows. — 
As they were passing through the Rotundo, their 
attention was arrested by this group of statuary — 
Boone killing the Indian. They formed a semi- 
circle, and the head man stepped forward and stood 
before the rest. They looked intently for some 
moments, scrutinizing and recognizing every part 
of the scene, and suddenly, as of one impulse, 
they raised their dreadful war-cry and ran hurried- 
ly fi'om the hall. 

Over the eastern door is represented the landing 
of the Pilgrim Fathers upon the rock of Plymouth. 



WASHINGTON. 59 

The boat has just touched the foot iDf the rock, and 
in the prow is a pilgrim in ihe act of landing. His 
little son seems to caution him ere he ventures 
among the savages. But the mother, w^ith her 
eyes elevated to Heaven, places her trust there, and 
restrains the boy. Seated on the rock is an Indian, 
holding in his hand an ear of corn, as an emblem 
of friendship. The conception of this work is 
noble — how could it be otherwise, commemorating 
one of the sublimest incidents in the annals of 
mankind ? 

In a panel over the western door of the Rotundo, 
is the rescue of Captain Smith from the Indians, by 
the Indian Princess Pocahontas, executed by Cap- 
palano. 

The Hall of the Representatives is in the second 
story of the south wing, and is of the form of the 
ancient Grecian theatre. The chord of the largest 
dimension is ninety-six feet. The height to the 
highest point of the ceiling of the dome is sixty 
feet. This room is surrounded by twenty-four 
columns of variegated marble, from the banks of 
the Potomac, with capitals of white Italian marble, 
carved, by Andrei, after the Corinthian order still 
remaining among the ruins of Athens. The dome 
is rich and grand, similar to the Pantheon of Rome, 
and executed by a young Italian artist, Bonani, 
now dead. Light is admitted through a cupola 
over the centre of the dome. The Speaker's chair 




LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS. 




CAPTAIN SMITH & POCAHONTAS. 



g2 PICTUREOF 

is elevated above the floor, and canopied; above itj 
and under an arch, is the statue of Liberty, by 
Causici; and on the entablature beneath is an Ame- 
rican eagle, copied from nature by an Italian artist, 
Valaperte, who has left but this one specimen of 
his talent in this country. 

In front of the Speaker's chair and immediately 
over the entrance to the hall, is a marble statue of 
History recording the events of the nation. She is 
standing on a winged car, traversed by the signs of 
the zodiac, the wheel of the car composed of a 
clock. The whole is of beautiful structure and 
design. It was executed by lardella, an Italian. 

On one side of the recess is a portrait of Lafay- 
ette, executed in full length by a French artistj 
and said to be an admirable likeness of the illus- 
trious Frenchman. Opposite to this, to correspond, 
is a portrait of Washington, painted by Vanderlyn. 

Between the columns at this base, are sofas 
placed for persons admitted by rule and privilege 
to the floor of the House; while in the area sit the 
members at mahogany desks. 

The northern door of the Rotundo leads into the 
vestibule of the Senate Chamber. This chamber is 
adorned by a screen of Ionic columns, after those 
of the temple of Minerva Polias. These columns 
support the gallery to the east, and a new gallery 
of iron pillars and railings prop it from the semi- 
circular wall to the west, and support a gallery for 




€!LOOK IN REPRESENTATIVES' HALL, 



Q4 PICTURE OF 

the use of ladies. I'he chair of the president is a 
canopied elevation under the eastern gallery and 
overlooks the floor of the Senate. In the area, the 
Senators sit in a semi-circular form, each at his 
mahogany desk. Over the President's chair is an 
admirable portrait of Washington, by Charles 
Wilson Peale. 

In the basement of the north wing is the Su- 
preme Court Room of the United States. 

The Library Room is constructed with great taste 
and beauty, is ninety-two feet in length, thirty-four 
in width, and thirty -six in length, having alcoves, 
over which are two galleries extending throughout 
the apartment. The room is handsomely orna- 
mented, and light is admitted both from ample win- 
dows and from three skylights above. The archi- 
tect of this room was Mr. G. Bulfinch. There is a 
pleasant retired apartment on the north, suitable 
for persons who may desire a quiet place for writing 
or study. Mr. Jefferson's library, embracing about 
seven thousand volumes, was purchased in 1815, 
for ^23,000, and the whole number of volumes, 
which have been selected with care, is near fort)' 
thousand. Mr. George Watterston w^as appointed 
Librarian in 1816 ; the present librarian, Mr. Mee- 
han, was appointed in 1829. A small annual ap- 
propriation is made by Congress for the increase of 
this library, and purchases are made under the 
direction of a joint committee of both houses. The 




PEALE'S WASHINGTON. 



QQ PICTURE OF 

books are well arranged, and every attention is 
paid to those who may desire to avail themselves of 
its advantages. 

The library is open daily, Sundays excepted, 
during the session of Congress, from nine to three, 
and from five to seven, P. M., and in the absence of 
Congress on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, 
during the same hours. The privilege of taking 
books from the library is restricted to members of 
Congress, and officers of the General Government. 

The President having been authorized by an act 
of the last session of Congress to enlarge the 
Capitol, and an appropriation of $100,000 having 
been made for that purpose for the commencement 
of the work, the plan of Mr. Walter, of Philadel- 
phia, was adopted for the addition of two wings. 
The corner stone of the southern extension was 
laid on the 4th of July of the present year, (]851,) 
in the presence of the President and Cabinet, a 
large and imposing military array, and an immense 
concourse of citizens. The same masonic imple- 
ments used by Washington on the occasion of lay- 
ing of the first corner stone of the Capitol, were 
used on this occasion by B. B. French, Grand 
Master of the District of Columbia. When thus 
enlarged, the Capitol will be made one of the most 
imposing edifices in the world. 



WASHINGTON. Q'J 



NAVAL MONUMENT. 

Near the western entrance to the Capitol stands 
the monument erected by the officers of the Navy 
to the memory of their brother officers who fell in 
the war with Tripoli. It stood originally at the 
Navy Yard, but was removed a few years since to 
the Capitol grounds. It is of marble, and about 
forty feet high. On one side of the base is a view 
of Tripoli and the American fleet ; on another, the 
words " To the memory of Sommers, Caldwell, De- 
catur, Wadsworth, Dorsey, Israel;" and on another, 
their epititph — a brief, but comprehensive and elo- 
quent history. At the base of the column are four 
marble emblematic figures, Mercury, Fame, His- 
tory, and America. The column has appropriate 
embellishments, and is surmounted by an eagle. 

CAPITOL GROUNDS. 

The grounds around the Capitol, as well as 
around the President's House, have recently been 
planted and adorned with taste, and afford, in the 
mild seasons of the year, inviting and shady walks, 
much frequented by citizens and strangers. Much 
yet remains to be done, and each successive year 
reveals some new improvement ; and when the 




NAVAL MONUMENT. 



WASHINGTON. gg 

Smithsonian Institution shall be completed, and its 
gardens brought under cultivation, when the grounds 
around the Observatory shall be properly laid out, 
and enriched with flowers and shrubbery, and es- 
pecially when the entire extended mall which opens 
from the Capitol to the Potomac, shall exhibit noble 
elms, sycamore, oak, and other trees, beneath the 
shade of which may gather the meditative, the 
young, and the beautiful, where our statesmen 
may wander and refresh themselves when weary 
of political cares and incessant agitations, our 
scholars gain strength for their quiet labors, and 
visiters from remote States and distant countries 
contemplate with admiration the opening evidences 
that here in a city bearing the immortal name of 
Washington, art, science, and liberty dwell in peace- 
ful communion, their lights blending, as reflected 
from numerous imposing monuments, and mingling 
with those more soft and cheering from the more 
varied scenery of nature; this city will become what 
its great Founder intended, and be worthy of the 
nation which he conducted to liberty and inde- 
pendence. 

PRESIDENT'S HOUSE. 

Strangers in the Metropolis visit with eager curi- 
osity, as one of the first objects of interest, the 
President's mansion. It is situated in the western 



70 PICTURE OF 

part of the city, on a plat of ground of twenty- 
acres, forty-four feet above high water. It has a 
southern and northern front, the southern com- 
manding a lovely view of the Potomac. On both 
fronts the grounds are laid out with taste, and 
planted with forest trees and shrubbery. The 
walks are of gravel, broad, and delightful. The 
mansion is of two stories, one hundred and seventy 
feet front, and eighty-six feet deep, and is built of 
white free stone, with Ionic pilasters. The north- 
ern front is ornamented with a lofty portico of 
four Ionic columns in front, and projecting with 
three columns. Beneath this portico drive the 
carriages of visiters. 

Immediately opposite the front door, across a 
large open vestibule or hall, is the Reception Room. 
The paper of this room is very beautiful, of a pearl 
white, with a small gilt figure. The carpet is said 
to be of American manufacture in imitation of 
Brussels. The ground is of fawn color with figures 
of baskets of flowers, and the centre table is of fine 
while marble. The pier table has a white marble 
top on a handsome gilt frame. The sofas and 
chairs of this room have gilt frames, and are covered 
with blue and white damask ; the curtains are of 
the same material, lined with delicate flesh colored 
silk. Two large mirrors stand opposite to each 
other, and a large chandelier, with many lights, is 
suspended from the ceiling, and in the evening 



72 PICTURE OF 

gives a peculiar splendor by its reflection. Com- 
municating with the Reception Room is a large 
square room, known now as the Green Room, of 
thirty by twenty-two feet. The sofa and chairs have 
gilt frames, and are covered with green and white 
damask, and the curtains are of the same material. 
Two large mirrors and a marble pier table adorn 
this room, the floor being covered with a dark 
Wilton carpet, and the chandelier having twenty 
lights. 

We now enter the celebrated East Room, which 
in extent is eighty feet long by forty wide, and 
twenty -two in height. There are four mantles of 
black marble, with Italian black and gold fronts, 
and handsome grates ; e^ach mantel is surmounted 
with a French mirror, the plates of which measure 
one hundred by Hfty-eight inches, framed in a very 
beautiful style ; two rich French vases adorn each 
mantel piece ; four other large mirrors, two at each 
end of the room reflect the rays from three large 
chandeliers with twenty-seven lights each, and be- 
neath each of the chandeliers is a beautiful table of 
marble set in mahogany ; four pier tables corres- 
pond in style to the centre tables, all standing on 
bronze feet. The curtains are of heavy crimson 
damask, surrounded by rich gilt cornices ; the 
chairs and sofas are of mahogany, covered with 
rich worsted, \roven to represent flowers, in a great 
variety of colors ; the carpet, of American manu- 



WASHINGTON. 73 

facture, was prepared expressly for this room, and 
is of a brown, crimson, and orange color, with the 
figure of an eagle. 

The following extracts from letters written by- 
Mrs. Adams, the lady of the first President of that 
name, throw much light upon the condition of this 
house, and also of this city, as they were in 
1800. 



MRS. ABIGAIL ADAMS TO MRS. SMITH. 

Washington, J^ovember 21, 1800. 
In the city are buildings enough, if they were 
compact and finished, to accommodate Congress 
and those attached to it ; but as they are, I see no 
great comfort for them. The river, which runs up 
to Alexandria, is in full view of my window and 
1 see the vessels as they pass and repass. The 
house is upon a grand and superb scale, requiring 
about thirty servants to attend and keep the apart- 
ments in proper order, and perform the ordinary 
business of the house and stables ; an establish- 
ment very well proportioned to the President's sal- 
ary. The lighting the apartments, from the kit- 
chen to the parlors and chambers, is a tax indeed ; 
and the fires we are obliged to keep, to secure us 
from daily agues, is another very cheering comfort. 
To assist us in this great castle, and render less at- 
tendance necessary, bells are wholly wanting, not 
C 



'74 PICTURE OF 

one single one being hung through the whole 
house, and promises are all you can obtain. This 
is so great an inconvenience, that I know not what 
to do or how to do. Thela dies from Georgetown 
and in the city have many of them visited me. 
Yesterday I returned fifteen visits ; but such a 
place as Georgetown appears — why, our Milton is 
beautiful. But no comparisons ; — if they will put 
me up some bells, and let me have wood enough 
to keep fires, I design to be pleased. I could con- 
tent myself almost any where three months ; but 
surrounded with forests can you believe that wood 
is not to be had, because people cannot be found to 
cut and cart it ! Briesler entered into a contract 
with a man to supply him with wood. A small 
part, a few cords only, has he been able to get- 
Most of that was expended to dry the walls of the 
house before we came in, and yesterday the man 
told him it was impossible for him to procure it to 
be cut and carted. He has had recourse to coals ; 
but we cannot get grates made and set. We have 
indeed come into a new country. 

You must keep this to yourself, and, when asked 
how I like it, say that I write you the situation is 
beautiful, which is true. The house is made habi- 
table, but there is not a single apartment finished, 
and all withinside, except the plastering, has been 
done since Briesler came. We have not the least 
fence, or yard, or other convenience without ; and 



WASHINGTON. 75 

the great unfinished audience room I make a dry- 
ing room of, to hang up the clothes in. The 
principal stairs are not up, and will not be this 
winter. Six chambers are made comfortable ; two 
are occupied by the President and Mr. Shaw ; two 
lower rooms, one for a common parlor, and one 
for a levee room. Upstairs there is the oval room, 
which is designed for the drawing room and has 
the crimson furniture m it. It is a very handsome 
room now ; but when completed, it will be beauti- 
ful. If the twelve years, in which tliis jjlace has 
been considered as the future seat of government, 
had been improved, as they would have been if in 
New England, very many of the inconveniences 
would have been removed. It is a beautiful spot, 
capable of every improvement, and the more I 
view it the more I am delii^-hted with it. 



MRS. ADAMS TO MRS. SMITH, 

Washington, Jfovember 21, 1800. 

* * * Two articles we are much distressed 
for ; one is bells, but the more important one is 
wood. Yet you cannot see for trees. No arrange- 
ment has been made yet, but promises never }>er- 
formed, to supjily the new comers with fuel. Of 
the promises, Briesler had received his full share. 
He had procured nine cords of wood ; between six 
and seven of that was kindly burnt up to dry the 



76 PICTURE OF 

walls of the house, which ought to have been 
done by the commissioners, but which, if left to 
them, would have remained undone to this day. 
Congress poured in, but shiver, shiver. No wood- 
cutters or carters to be had at any rate. We are 
now indebted to a Pennsylvania wagon to bring us, 
through the first clerk in the Treasury office, one 
cord and a half of wood, which is all we have for 
this house, where twelve fires are constantly re- 
quired, and where, we are told, the roads will soon 
be so bad that it cannot be drawn. Briesler pro- 
cured two hundred bushels of coals, or we must 
have suffered. This is the situation of almost every 
person. The public officers have sent to Phila- 
delphia for wood-cutters and wagons. * * * 

The ladies are impatient for a drawing room ; I 
have no looking-glasses but dwarfs for this house ; 
nor a twentieth part lamps enough to light it. 

STATUE OF JEFFERSON. 

This very fine bronze statue now stands in the 
small square immediately in front of the President's 
house. It is among the very best statues in the 
country. It was presented to the Government by 
Captain Levy of the United States Navy, a gentle- 
man devotedly attached to the memory of Mr. 
Jefferson, and who now is the owner of Monticello, 
the former aljode of that arreat man. The statue 




STATUE OF JEFFERSON. 



78 PICTURE OF 

Stands on a pedestal, and in his left hand Jefferson 
holds a scroll of the Declaration of Independence, 
and in his right hand a pen, as though he had just 
finished that immortal instrument, and was antici- 
pating the glorious results of its influence — the ter- 
ror it would strike among the foes of freedom — the 
strength with which it would nerve the patriot's 
heart — the bitter opposition which it would meet 
with from some — the joy with which it would be 
hailed by more — and, if adopted, the high desti- 
nies which awaited young America. The country 
has never been informed of the persevei-ing and 
expensive efforts made by Capt. Levy to secure 
this statue, nor of the merits of the French artist 
whose enthusiasm was hardly surpassed by the 
individual who rewarded him for this admirable 
production of his skill and genius. It now occu- 
pies an eligible position, and will long stand in 
honor alike of the great man it so faithfully repre- 
sents and of the noble spirit of patriotism that se- 
cured and presented it to the nation. It formerly 
stood in the Rotundo of the Ctxpitol. 

STATE DEPARTMENT. 

The State Department is a plain building, of 
brick, two stories in height, one hundred and sixty 
feet long and fifty-five wide, with a spacious pas- 
sage running through its whole length, both on the 



WASHINGTON. 79 

first and second floors, to the latter of which the 
ascent is by a widd staircase in the centre. The 
building contains thirty -two rooms, besides those 
in the attic. The first floor is occupied by the 
Fifth Auditor of the Treasury at the east end, and 
the Second Comptroller of the Treasury at the 
west end. On the second floor are the apartments 
of the Secretary of State and his suite ; also the 
library of the Department, containing some ten or 
twelve thousand volumes, selected with care, and 
relating especially to subjects of diplomacy and in- 
ternational law, with the laws and reports of the 
several States of the Union. 

TREASURY DEPARTMENT. 

This noble structure, adjoining on the south the 
State Department, is three hundred and forty feet 
in length from north to south, and one hundred and 
seventy from east to west. When completed, by 
the addition of the north and south wings, its 
length will be four hundred and fifty-seven feet. 
In front is an imposing colonnade, stretching the 
entire length of the building, after the architecture 
of the temple of Minerva Polias, at Athens. This 
portico is of the finest proportions, and the entire 
building does great credit to the taste and judgment 
of its architect, Mr. Robert Mills. The main en- 
trance is on the east by a double flight of steps 



go PICTURE OP 

Each floor contains forty-five apartments. The 
first or colonnade floor is occupied by the Treas- 
urer of the United States and Third Auditor, m 
the centre or west building ; the First Auditor in 
the north ; and the Attorney General and Solicitor 
of the Treasury in the south. On the second floor, 
in the centre building, are the apartments of the 
Secretary of the Treasury and his suite ; in the 
south, those of the First Comptroller and Register 
of the Treasury, who also occupies a suite of 
rooms in the north and centre : the library of the 
Department is also on this floor. The third floor 
is occupied entirely by the General Land Oflice. 

WAR DEPARTMENT. 

Numerous and earnest appeals have been made 
to Congress for a larger and fire-proof building 
for the War Department, the present one being 
not only exposed every moment to destruction by 
fire, but so small, compared with the requirements 
of the Department, that many of the bureaus are 
compelled to occupy rented private houses. It is 
situated on the west side of the President's square, 
and is similar in design to the Department of State. 
On the first floor are the Major General, Gluarter- 
master General, Adjutant General, and Second 
Auditor of the Treasury ; on the second floor the 
Secretary of War and his suite at the east end. 



WASHINGTON 



81 



and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at the 
west end. 

The banners of the principal victories in the war 
of the Revolution, in the subsequent war with 
Great Britain, and many trophies recently won 
from Mexico, are carefully preserved in this De- 
partment. Among these are the flags taken at 
Saratoga, the Cowpens, and York ; the flags under 
which Scott and Jesup and their brave companions 
fought and conquered are literally riddled through 
with shot of the foe ; and here will be seen the 
flag, with an eagle wrought in silk, presented by 
the ladies of Philadelphia to Gen. Pike, and many 
others of great interest. 

The Engineer Bureau occupies the building on 
the northwest corner of Pennsylvania avenue and 
Seventeenth street, opposite diagonally to the War 
Department. 

The Bureau of Topographical Engineers occu- 
pies the first floor of the double tenement of brick 
on Seventeenth street, opposite to the War Depart- 
ment. The Ordnance Bureau occupies the third 
floor, and the Subsistence Bureau the second floor 
of the same building. 

The Paymaster General occupies the second and 
third floors of the building adjoining south the one 
mentioned above, and the Pension Bureau the one 
adjoining north. 

The Medical Bureau occupies a building on the 

c2 



32 PICTURE OF 

north side of G street, a short distance west of the 
War Department. 

A fine block of buildings erecting opposite the 
Navy Department, to be rented by the Government, 
will afford better temporary accommodations than 
at present. 

NAVY DEPARTMENT. 

This building is situated south of the War De- 
partment, to which it is similar in design, and is of 
the same dimensions. 

On the first floor is the Fourth Auditor of the 
Treasury at the east end ; and the Bureau of Con- 
struction, Equipment, and Repairs, and the Bureau 
of Provisions and Clothing, at the west end. The 
Secretary of the Navy and his suite occupy the 
east end of the second floor ; the Bureau of Ord- 
nance and Hydrography, and the Bureau of Medi- 
cine, the west end and centre. 

" Between thirty and forty national flags, trophies 
of battle struck to 'a bit of striped bunting, ' deco- 
rate one of the rooms of the Navy Commissioners. 
They are well arranged and labelled, showing the 
names of the vessels to which they once belonged. 
Some of these bear evidence of the strife which 
took place before they were struck to the stars and 
stripes of the Union." 

This, as well as the State and War Departments, 



WASHINGTON. g3 

is becoming inconvenient from its small size for the 
growing necessities of the nation. "We shall doubt- 
less see at no remote day, buildings rising, more 
safe, more ample, and in materials and proportions 
of a richer and nobler architecture. 

POST OFFICE. 

This beautiful edifice, after the design of Mr. 
Mills, is of the Corinthian order, of white marble, 
three stories high, extendmg two hundred and four 
feet in front, and one hundred and two feet in the 
depth of its wings. Its main front is on E street 
north; its east wing fronts on Seventh -street, and 
its west wing on Eighth street. It contains eighty- 
one rooms, twenty -seven on each floor, and occu- 
pies the site of the old Post Office building, burnt 
on the 15th December, 1836. 

The first floor, west wing, is occupied by the 
Receiving Office, Dead Letter Office, and the To- 
pographer of the Post Office Department; the east 
wing and centre by the Examining and Register 
Clerks of the Auditor's Office. On the second 
floor, west wing and centre, are the Postmaster 
General, his three Assistants, and the chief clerk 
of the department, and principal clerks of the Con- 
tract, Appointment, and Inspection Offices; in the 
east wing, the Auditor of the Post Office, his chief 
and other clerks in more immediate connection with 



g4 tiCTUllE OF* 

him. The third floor, west wing, is occupied 
chiefly by the clerks of the Contract Ofiice; the 
centre and east wing by the Auditor's clerks. 

THE PATENT OFFICE. 

The building now occupied by this office is 
located on F street north, between 7th and 9th 
streets west. It is thoroughly fire-proof in its 
construction. The original design contemplates a 
very extensive edifice, commensurate to the objects 
for which it was intended. The portion of build- 
ing now occupied by this office extends 270 feet^ 
by a depth of 70 feet, and divided into two lofty 
^stories, above a high basement. The principal 
front looks down 8th street, where a noble portico 
(a fac simile of that of the celebrated Pantheon) 
forms the principal feature of the building, and 
where is the grand entrance by a flight of granite 
steps, leading into a large hall^ containing a splen- 
did and double flight of marble steps, ascending to 
spacious galleries above. The passage below on 
the right leads to the office rooms of the Commis- 
sioner of Patents; that on the left to the large 
model room, filled with the rich gifts of mechani- 
cal science and art, disposed in glass cases. The 
second floor is thrown into one grand saloonj ap- 
propriately named the National Gallery, where are 
exhibited specimens of home manufactures, numer- 







m_i 



iiii lii I 



WASHINGTON. 85 

ous subjects of natural history, cfec. The length 
of this hall is 264 feet, width 64 feet, and height 
30 feet, ornamented with a quadruple row of mas- 
sive stone Doric columns, rising with their entab- 
lature twenty feet, above which spring a series of 
vaulted ceilings ten feet higher, covering the whole 
area, and forming a highly ornamented plafond. 
In the center of this Gallery a grand cylindrical 
arch of 40 feet span towers above the rest, pierced 
with an aperture 13 feet in diameter, which admits 
the light from above — the whole constructed with 
solid masonry. This splendid hall has been ap- 
propriated, since 1842, to the collection of natural 
history, &c., brought home by the United States 
Naval Exploring Expedition; which has since 
been arranged, and is still under the superin- 
tendence of Commander Charles Wilkes, the cele- 
brated commander of the expedition. This hall 
contains, in addition to the above, many curiosities 
belonging to the Departments of State, War and 
Navy, United States. In the basement story of 
this building is a large room at the west end for 
the reception of full-sized models; the rooms at 
the east end are occupied as offices — one is ap- 
propriated to the meetings and library of the 
National Institute Society. 

Congress, in 1849, made an appropriation for 
the extension of the Patent Office building, by 
wings, one of which, east side, is in a forward 

c3 



gg PICTURE OF 

State to completion. This wing, when completed, 
will provide extensive accommodations for the 
Patent Office proper, and rooms are providing in 
the east wing for the reception of the Department 
of the Interior, which is charged with the Patent 
Office Bureau. This bureau, however, will have 
the benefit of the magnificent hall now construct- 
ing on the same level with that already described, 
270 feet long, 65 feet wide, and 30 feet high, orna- 
mented with a double colonnade of marble pillars, 
rising, with their entablatures, 20 feet high, and 
supporting a vaulted ceiling, formed of grooved 
arches, of upwards of 20 feet span, all of solid 
masonry, which constitutes the fire-proof char- 
acter of the whole building. This vast room will 
be opened into the great gallery already described 
in the first building, by a lofty arch-way. The 
west wing, when completed, i^ intended also to 
have a similar gallery on this level, so that, when 
the northern section of the building shall be erected 
there will be a contmuous gallery around the whole 
structure a quarter of a mile long. 

The wings now erecting are faced outside witii 
white marble, and on the court front Vv^ith granite, 
both from the Maryland quarries. The work is 
admirably well done, reflecting the greatest credit 
on the architect, and the contractors of the work. 



WASHINGTON §7 

WASHINGTON MONUMENT. 

Below is a full description of the design adopted 
by the Board of Managers for the monument 
which it is contemplated to erect at the seat of 
government to the memory of Washington, from 
voluntary contributions. 

The design embraces the idea of a grand cir- 
cular colonnaded building, 250 feet in diameter, and 
100 feet high, from which springs an obelisk shaft 
70 feet at the base and 500 feet high, making a 
total elevation of 600 feet. 

This vast rotundo, forming the grand base of the 
Monument, is surrounded by 30 columns of mas- 
sive proportions, being 12 feet in diameter and 45 
feet high, elevated upon a lofty base or stylobate 
of 20 feet elevation and 300 feet square, sur- 
mounted by an entablature 20 feet high, and 
crowned by a massive balustrade 15 feet in height. 
The terrace outside of the colonnade is 25 feet 
wide, and the pronaos or walk within the colon- 
nade, including the column space, 25 feet. The 
walks enclosing the cella, or gallery within, are 
fretted with 30 massive antae (pilasters) 10 feet 
wide, 45 feet high, and 7? feet projection, answer- 
ing to the columns in front, surmounted by their 
appropriate architrave. The deep recesses formed 



WASHINGTON. 89 

by the projection of the antre, provide suitable 
niches for the reception of statues, 

A tetrastyle portico (4 columns in front) in triple 
rows of the same proportions and order with the 
columns of the colonnade, distinguishes the en- 
trance to the Monument, and serves as a pedestal 
for the triumphal car and statue of the illustrious 
chief; the steps of this portico are flanked by mas- 
sive blockings, surmounted by appropriate figures 
and trophies. 

Over each column, in the great frieze of the en- 
tablatures around the entire building, are sculp- 
tured escutcheons, coats of arms of each State in 
the Union, surrounded by bronze civic wreaths 
banded together by festoons of oak leaves, &c., all 
of which spring (each way) from the centre of the 
portico, where' the coat of arms of the United 
States are emblazoned. The statues surrounding 
the rotundo outside, under the colonnade, are all 
elevated upon pedestals, and will be those of the 
glorious signers of the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence. 

Ascending the portico outside to the terrace level, 
a lofty vomitoria (door way) 30 feet high leads into 
the cella, (rotundo gallery,) 50 feet wide, 500 feet 
in circumference, and 60 feet high, with a colossal 
pillar in the centre 70 feet in diameter, around which 
the gallery sweeps. This pillar forms the founda- 
tion of the obelisk column above. 

c4 



90 PICTURE OF 

Both sides of the gallery are divided into spaces! 
by pilasters, elevated on a continued zocle or base" 
5 feet high, forming an order with its entablature, 
40 feet high, crowned by a vaulted ceiling 20 feet 
high, divided by radiating archevaults, correspond- 
ing with the relative positions of the opposing 
pilasters, and enclosing deep sunken colfers eni-iched 
with paintings. 

The spaces between the pilasters are sunk into 
niches for the reception of the statues of the fathers 
of the Revolution, contemporary with the immortal 
Washington ; over which are large tablets to re- 
ceive the National Paintings commemorative of the 
battle and other scenes of that memorable period. 
Opposite to the entrance of this gallery, at the ex- 
tremity of the great circular wall, is the grand 
niche for the reception of the statue of the "Father 
of his country," elevated on its appropriate pedes- 
tal, and designated as principal in the group by its 
colossal proportions. 

This spacious Gallery and Rotundo, which prop- 
erly may be denominated the " National Pantheon,'^ 
is lighted in four grand divisions from above, and 
by its circular form, presents each subject decorat- 
ing its walls in an interesting point of view, and 
with proper effect, as the curiosity is kept up every 
moment, from the whole room not being presented 
to the eye at one glance, as in the case of a straight 
gallery. 



WASHINGTON. ^l 

Bantering the centre pier through an arched way^ 
you pass into a spacious circular area, and ascend, 
with an easy grade, by a railway, to the grand 
terrace, 75 feet above the base of the Monument. 
This terrace is 700 feet in circumference, 180 feet 
wide, enclosed by a colonnaded balustrade, 15 feet 
high with its base and capping. The circuit of this 
grand terrace is studded with small temple-formed 
structures, constituting the cupolas of the lanterns, 
lighting the Pantheon gallery below ; by means of 
these little temples, from a gallery within, a bird's- 
eye view is had of the statues, &c., below. 

Through the base of the great circle of the balus- 
trade are four apertures at the four cardinal points, 
leading outside of the balustrade, upon the top of 
the main cornice, where a gallery 6 feet wide and 
750 feet in circumference encircles the whole, en- 
closed by an ornamental guard, forming the crown- 
ing member on the top of the tholus of the main 
cornice of the grand colonnade. Within the thick- 
ness of this wall, staircases descend to a lower 
gallery over the plafond of the pronaos of the 
colonnade lighted from above. This gallery, which 
extends all around the colonnade, is 20 feet wide, 
divided into rooms for the records of the Monu- 
ment, works of art, or studios for artists engaged 
in the service of the Monument. Two other waj^s 
communicate with this gallery from below. 

In the centre of the grand terrace above described. 



92 PICTURE OF 

rises the lofty obelisk shaft of the Monument, 50 
feet square at the base, and 500 feet high, diminish- 
ing as it rises to its apex, where it is 40 feet square ; 
at the foot of this shaft, and on each face project 
four massive zocles 25 feet high, supporting so 
many colossal symbolic tripods of victory, 20 feet 
high, surmounted by facial columns with their 
symbols of authority. These zocle faces are em- 
bellished with inscriptions, which are continued 
around the entire base of the shaft, and occupy the 
surface of that part of the shaft between the tripods. 
On each face of the shaft above this is sculptured 
the four leading events in General Washington's 
eventful career, in basso relievo, and above this the 
shaft is perfectly plain to within 50 feet of its sum- 
mit, where a simple sta.r is placed, emblematic of 
the glory which the name of Washington has at- 
tained. 

The interior of the shaft is to be orniunented by 
blocks of marble and stone contributed by the dif- 
ferent States and associations. Many of these 
have been received, and are being placed in their 
proper positions. The sculpture of some of these 
contributions reflect the highest credit on the artists. 

To ascend to the summit of the column, the same 
facilities as below are provided witliin the sliaft, by 
an easy graded gallery, which may be traversed by 
a railway, terminating in a circular observatory 20 
feet in diameter, around which at the top is a look- 



WASHINGTON. 93 

out gallery, which opens a prospect all around the 
horizon. 

With reference to the area embraced by the 
foundations and basement of the Monument, and 
the uses to which they may be applied, the under- 
space outwards, occupied by the lower terrace and 
colonnade, may be appropriated to the accommo- 
dation of the keepers of the Monument, or those 
having charge of it, and attending on visiters. 

These apartments, which are arched, are well 
lighted and aired, as they are all above ground, the 
light being disposed in the sunk panels of the stylo- 
bate (base.) The principal entrance to all these 
apartments will be from the rear, or opposite side 
of the portico entrance. The inner space, or that 
under the grand gallery or rotundo, may be ap- 
propriated to catacombs for the reception of the re- 
mains of such distinguished men as the nation may 
honor with interment here. This subterranean gal- 
lery is so large and lofty that it would accommodate 
many catacombs. 

In the centre of the Monument is placed the 
tomb of Washington, to receive his remains, 
should they be removed thither, the descent to 
which is by a broad flight of steps, Hghted by the 
same light which illumines his statue. 

This great work is rapidly rising, and has already 
been carried up nearly one hundred feet. 



94 PICTURE OF 



STATUE OF WASHINGTON 



This beautiful work of art by Greenough, wiio 
devoted several years in Italy to its execution, 
stands in the east square of the Capitol, on a noble 
granite pedestal, and is surrounded by a handsome 
iron railing, which encloses two small yew trees 
and some ornamental shrubbery. Of this statue, Mr. 
Greenough says : " It is the birth of my thought. 
I have sacrificed to it the flower of my days, and 
the freshness of my strength ; its every lineament 
has been moistened with the sweat of my toil, and 
the tears of my exile. I would not barter away its 
association with my name for the proudest fortune 
avarice ever dreamed of. In giving it up to the na- 
tion which has done me the honor to order it at my 
hands, I respectfully claim for it that protection 
which it is the boast of civilization to afford to art, 
and which a generous enemy has more than once 
been seen to extend even to the monuments of his 
own defeat." This statue is of colossal size, in a 
sitting posture, and were it erect it would stand 
about twelve feet high. A foreign writer has said, 
<' nothing can be more human, and at the same 
time more god-like, than this statue of Washington. 
It is a sort of domestic Jupiter." It i.'^ ^rreatly ad- 




STATU : OF WASHINGTON. 



96 PICTURE OF 

mired by those most familiar with the great works 
of art in Italy, and is growing in reputation with 
the public. The great Father of his Country is 
represented with the right hand pointed to Heaven, 
and the left hand holding a Roman sword with the 
handle turned from the person. Of it the Hon. 
Edward Everett says : 

" We regard Mr. Greenough's Washington as 
one of the greatest works of sculpture of modern 
times. We do not know the work that can justly 
be preferred to it, whether we consider the purity 
of the taste, the loftiness of the conception, the 
truth of the character, or, what we must own we 
feel less able to judge of, accuracy of anatomical 
study and mechanical skill. Had it been the work 
of Canova, Chantrey, or Thorswalden, it would 
have been deemed, we doubt not, worthy of either 
of those artists. Nay, we are prepared to go 
farther, and, disclaiming all pretence to connois- 
seurship, we are persuaded, if, instead of being a 
statue of Washington, it had been a statue of Julius 
Cresar or Alexander the Great — if, instead of com- 
ing from the studio of a young American of the 
present day, with all its freshness upon it, it had 
been dug up in ihe ruins of the baths of Titus, or 
the villa of Adrian, shattered and mutilated, arms, 
legs, nose, and even head gone, stained and cor- 
roded ; when it had been scraped and pieced to- 
.irether, furnished with modern extremities, and 



WAglliNGTON. 97 

{lerhaps a head of doubtful authenticity, and thus 
restored had been set up in the Vatican or the 
Tribune, it would have been deemed as fine a piece 
of sculpture as any there. 

" This grand work is of one aingle piece of mar- 
ble, not of pure white^ which it is impossible to 
procure in masses of sufficient size for such a statue 
without stains fatal to its beauty, but of a bluish 
tinge highly favorable to the effect of a work of art. 
The marbles of this kind are now preferred for 
works of this description." 

This statue is intended not to commemorate any 
single action, but rather to express the sublime 
dignity, the calm integrity, fortitude and devotion, 
in a word the entire character of Washington. The 
seat which the statue occupies is adorned by a 
miniature figure of Columbus on the one side, and 
that of an Indian chief on the other, with other 
emblematic devices, such as the infant Hercules 
strangling the serpent, the rising sun, with the crest 
of the national armor of the United States. 

JACKSON MONUMENT. 

This great work by Mr. Cla7-k Mills is far ad- 
vanced, and will be placed in the centre of Lafayette 
Square in the course of the year. This Monument 
is to be a bronze equestrian statue — one-third larger 
than life, after an admirable model by Mr. Mills, 



98 PICTUREOF 

in which the horse is represented in a rearing atti- 
tude, s«lf-balanced and sustained, while the General 
waives his hat in acknowledgment of the honors 
paid him, while reviewing his troops. Nothing could 
Well exceed the beauty and spirit of the horse, or 
the energy and valor expressed in the countenance 
of the stern and never-conquered Hero of New 
Orleans. Mr. Mills is a native, and entirely self- 
taught artist, and deserves the greatest credit, not 
only for the genius which his model exhibits, but 
for the method he has devised in opposition to 
many unbelievei-s or doubters for castiiig this noble 
statue, under his own direction in this city. None 
who know the inventive powers of Mr. Mills, or 
what he has already accomplished, have the least 
doubt of his success. His bust of the late Mr. 
Calhoun, modeled and cut in marble by himself, 
and for which the city council of Charleston pre- 
sented him with a gold medal, is one of the most 
perfect works of art. We feel assured that the 
speedy completion of this equestrian statue in 
bronze to the honor of General Jackson, will dis- 
pel every doubt of the abilities of the sculptor, and 
win for him a wide and enduring fame. 

NATIONAL OBSERVATORY. 

One of the most interesting objects in the Metro- 
polis hi the National Observatory, situated about 



IQQ PICTURE OF 

two miles from the Capitol, on Camp Hill, and 
commanding one of the prettiest prospects the mind 
can imagine. 

In 1842, an act of Congress was passed, making 
an appropriation of money and grounds for the erec- 
tion of the building which was intended as a depot 
for charts and mathematical instruments for the 
navy. It was erected under the superintendence of 
Lieutenant J. M. Gillis, who was sent abroad to 
collect a number of astronomical and magnetic in- 
struments. In 1844, Lieutenant M. F. Maury, of 
the Navy, an officer amply qualified to superintend 
its operations, was directed to take charge of the 
Observatory, and under his direction and untiring 
efforts it is taking a prominent stand among other 
similar institutions. It received its first impetus 
from the Hon. Abel P. Upshur, who afforded every 
facility for getting it into operation ; was liberally 
patronised by the Hon. George Bancroft, who did 
all he could to enlarge its sphere of usefulness ; and 
the late popular Secretary of the Navy, Hon. 
J. Y. Mason, has not been behind his predeces- 
sors in the continuance of his patronage. If Con- 
gress will only be moderately generous to this in- 
fant institution, there is nothing to hinder it from 
becoming a great national ornament, and the best 
school in our country for the attainment of astro- 
nomical information. 



WASHINGTON. JQl 

In 1845, Lieut. Maury published the observa- 
tions of that year, which fill a large volume, con- 
taining also drawings of every part of the building, 
and the instruments at present mounted. To a 
scientific person this volume will afford great at- 
traction, and to all it will give proof of the untiring 
zeal of the officers, who have performed the whole 
of the work, and still continue to do so, under the 
direction of Lieut. Maury. 

The Observatory is built nearly in the shape of 
a cross, and fronts to the north. The right wing, 
or east room, contains two beautiful instruments, 
the mural circle and the meridian transit, two in- 
struments whose results are very much the same, 
but entirely different in their construction. The 
former is used for determining the declinations or 
the latitude of the stars, and the latter to determine 
both right ascension and declination, that is, both- 
iatitude and longitude. To the uninitiated the 
apparatus connected with the instruments for the 
purpose of lighting them up, &c., would present a 
mass of confusion ; whereas, the most perfect 
system reigns throughout, and a degree of ingenui- 
ty not met with in any other institution of the 
kind. These instruments in clear weather are 
generally at work by sundown , but at any other time 
of the day an officer of the building will take plea- 
sure in showing them to strangers. The west room 
contains a large transit instrument, used for deter- 



102 PICTURE OF 

mining the right ascension of stars, and in connec- 
tion with it is the magnetic telegraph, for the pur- 
pose of determming the difference of longitude be- 
tween any two places. When the lines are carried 
through all parts of the United States, this will 
afford the readiest means of ascertaining the correct 
longitude of every point — a much desired event 
for acquiring geographical knowledge. 

The south section of the Observatory consists of 
two separate rooms, the north one containing a 
beautiful instrument called the prime vertical, and 
the southern room a circle of refraction, an instru- 
ment invented by Lieutenant Maury, and appa- 
rently intricate in its numerous appointments, yet 
actually simple in prmciple, and mathematically 
correct in theory. The beautiful finish of the in- 
struments will strike the beholder with astonish- 
ment, and his wonder will not cease when he is in- 
formed of the trifling cost of the whole compared 
with the results to the country. Each room is pro- 
vided with a sidereal clock of very correct rate of 
going, which is used in connection with the insti-u- 
ments while observing; these clocks have errors 
only the hundredth part of a second or there- 
abouts, a space of time scarce within the compre- 
hension of most individuals. 

The great equatorial telescope is the instrument 
with which a stranger would be at once fascinated 
— a peep through it at once transports the beholder 



WASHINGTON. 1Q3 

to Other realms above; he plainly sees the moun- 
tains and volcanoes in the Moon; and every mo- 
ment expects to see some of the inhabitants of those 
unknown regions stepping out from behind some 
rock. The planets Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus, 
&c., which appear to the naked eye only as brilliant 
stars, are resolved into magnificent moons through 
the equatorial, surrounded by their accompanying 
satellites. The wonders of the heavens are, in 
fact, all unfolded to the view, and we read the stars 
in the firmament as though it were a book. 

The dome of the building is so fixed that it 
revolves with the slightest movement, and enables 
the observer, through a sUt in the top, to turn the 
instrument on any object. An ingeniously con- 
structed chair, for the purpose of elevating or low- 
ering the observer, demands some little attention, 
being the work of an Alexandrian and an Ameri- 
can. 

All the instruments referred to have been mount- 
ed, under the direction of Lieutenant Maury, by 
native workmen, who have shown an admirable 
adaptation for these nice labors; and the day is pro- 
bably not far distant, when we shall nobly compete 
with our European friends in the manufacture of 
the instruments — at present it cannot be done. 

In the main body of the Observatory are the 
offices or rooms for calculating, the library for the 
use of the buildin<r, the room for nautical instru- 



104 PICTURE OF 

ments, and a room for charts and nautical books.— 
The saving that has taken place in the latter arti- 
cles since the construction of the building would 
nearly pay for its original cost. 

The southeast room in the main building con- 
tains all the chronometers, which are supplied to 
our public national vessels, and they are regulated 
by a mean-time clock of great* regularity, which 
stands in the corner. The facility for regulating 
these time-pieces, and the exact character that is 
attached to each chronometer when it is sent to a 
ship, renders navigation more secure than it was in 
former times. 

The grounds about the Observatory are not laid 
out yet as they should be, as the means at the dis- 
posal of the superintendent are small for that pur- 
pose. We hope to see them adorned as our other 
public walks about Washington, when they will be- 
come a charming resort to the stranger visiting the 
Metropolis. After years of labor. Congress has at 
length given the superintendent a house to live in, 
where he can give his continual superintendence to 
the operations going on in the main building. The 
house is to the east of the Observatory, built with 
taste and at little cost, and adds very much to the 
sterile waste once called Camp Hill, which has 
become one of the prettiest spots in Washington, 
and has increased the value of property very much 
ni that part of the city. 



WASHINGTON. 105 

The details of labor connected with the Observa- 
tory are contained in the transactions of 1845, and 
are interesting, as showing the amount of work 
done by a small corps of officers. 

It remains to mention the small equatorial instru- 
ment mounted outdoors, which can always be 
seen by visiters, and the two comet-seekers kept 
employed in clear weather to detect the approach of 
these wandering luminaries. A meteorological re- 
gister is also minutely kept, and every branch of 
astronomical science is attended to, where means 
are afiorded for its accomplishment. 

Visiters to the Observatory may be sure of being 
received with courtesy by the superintendent and 
officers, who are at all times desirous to afford 
every facility for seeing the building and explain- 
ing the use of the various instruments. 

OFFICE OF THE COAST SURVEY. 

Strangers cannot fail to derive gratification from 
a visit to this office, a little east of the Capitol, on 
the right side of New Jersey avenue, which is 
under the direction of Professor Alexander D. 
Bache. Great progress has been made in an 
accurate survey of a large extent of our coast, 
both on the Atlantic and Pacific, and in no branch 
of the Government has there been displayed more 
scientific ability. In this office are deposited the 



WASHINGTON. ]07 

weights and measures adopted by the United 
States, and a set of which is here prepared for the 
authorities of each State in the Union. The maps 
and charts, prepared with the greatest accuracy 
and skill by this office, are of inestimable value, 
and it would be difficult to exaggerate the merits of 
the gentlemen who are concerned in carrying out 
the designs for which it was estabhshed. The 
survey on the Atlantic coast now extends vmbroken 
from Casco bay, in Maine, to Cedar Island, in Vir- 
ginia, 1,200 miles, measuring along the sides of 
the triangles, and the land operations and hydro- 
graphy are kept as closely up with the triangu- 
lations as is practicable. 

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 

This Institution owes its existence to the will of 
James Smithson, of England, a relative of the 
Duke of Northumberland, who seventeen years 
ago died at Genoa, leaving to the United States 
more than half a million of dollars, " to found at 
V/ashington, under the name of the Smithsonian 
Institution, an Establishment for the increase and 
diffusion of knowledge among men." It is stated 
that the mother of Mr. Smithson was a Mrs. 
Maurice, of an ancient family in Wiltshire by the 
name of Hungerford; that he was educated at Ox- 
ford, where he took an honorary degree in 1786, 



108 PICTURE OF 

that he was a gentleman of retired and studious 
habits, hving in lodgings sometimes in London and 
occasionally visiting and staying for a time in the 
cities of the continent; that he interested himself 
not especially in questions of government, but de- 
voted his attention much to science, particularly to 
chemistry. He thus became introduced to the 
society of Cavendish, Woolaston and others, -welL 
known to the Royal Society in London, of which 
he became a member. Twenty-four treatises from 
the pen of Smithson are mentioned as having been 
published in the transactions of the Royal Society 
and other scientific journals, containmg contri- 
butions on the sciences of mineralogy, geology, 
and more especially of mineral chemistry. On the 
1st July, 1836, Congress solemnly accepted the 
trust reposed in them by Mr. Smithson. Through 
the earnest and well directed efforts of the Hon. 
Richard Rush, (appointed by the United States to 
prosecute its claim to this bequest,) the fund was 
obtained from the English Court of Chancery and 
paid into the Treasury of the United States, Sep- 
tember 1st, 1838. Mr. Van Buren, then Pres- 
ident, sought the opinions of men eminent in 
letters and science as to the best mode of applying 
this bequest in order most effectually to secure the 
end proposed by the testator, and communicated 
their replies to his enquiries to Congress. 

Immediately after the receipt of this Smith- 



WASHINGTON. ] 09 

sonian fund, ^500,000 of the amount was invested 
in Arkansas bonds, and the remainder in bonds of 
the states of Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio, and the 
failure of Arkansas to pay the interest on her debt 
was urged as a reason for postponing the establish- 
ment of the Institution. After protracted discus- 
sions in both houses of Congress, the present bill, 
under which the institution now exists, was adopted 
by the House of Representatives on the 29th, and 
in the Senate on the 30th April, 1846. It is en- 
acted, " That the President and Vice President of 
the United States, the Secretary of State, the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury, the Secretary of War, the 
Secretary of the Navy, the Postmaster General, 
the Attorney General, the Chief Justice, and the 
Commissioner of the Patent Office of the United 
States, and the Mayor of the city of Washington, 
during the time for which they hold their re- 
spective offices, and such other persons as they 
may elect honorary members, be, and they are 
hereby constituted an establishment by the name 
of the Smithsonian Institution, for the increase and 
diffusion of knowledge among men; and by that 
name shall be known and have perpetual succes- 
sion with the powers, limitations, and restrictions 
hereinafter contained, and no other." 

This bill further provides for the establishment 
of a Board of Regents, to be composed of "the 
Vice President of the United States, the Chief 
P 



110 PICTURE OF 

Justice of the United States, the Mayor of the city 
of Washington, during the time for which they 
shall hold their respective offices, three members 
of the Senate, and three members of the House of 
Representatives, together with six other persons 
not members of Congress, two of whom shall be 
members of the National Institute in the city of 
Washington, and residents in the said city, and 
the other four thereof shall be inhabitants of States, 
and no two of the same State." The three mem- 
bers of the Senate are appointed by the President 
of the Senate, the three members of the House 
by the Speaker thereof, who at the close of two 
years retire and give place to others similarly 
chosen, and the six other persons are appointed 
by joint resolution of both houses. The Board 
of Regents are empowered to elect a Chancellor, 
who is to preside over their proceedings, and the 
Institution; and a Secrettiry, who is to act both 
for the Institution and the Board, and an Executive 
Committee of three members. 

The site selected for this Institution is on the 
fine open mall below the Capitol, where is already 
rising the magnificent Norman structure of which 
we present so accurate a view and exact a descrip- 
tion from the pencil and pen of the distinguished 
architect, Mr. Renwick. This building is to be of 
plain and durable materials, and of sufficient size, 
and with suitable rooms or halls for the reception 



WASHINGTON. Ill 

and arrangement, upon a liberal scale, of objects 
of natural history, including a geological and min- 
eralogical cabinet, also a laboratory, a library, a 
gallery of art and the necessary lecture rooms. 
The whole to be finished in the coarse of four 
years from March, 1848; and the expense to be 
defrayed entirely out of the interest of the funds. 
The Secretary is to take charge of the property of 
the institution — to superintend its literary and scien- 
tific operations; and to give an annual account of 
the same to the Regents. The Regents have re- 
solved to divide the income of the funds into two 
equal portions, and to devote one to publications, 
original research, &c., and the other to the forma- 
tion of a library and a collection of objects of 
nature and art. Measures are already adopted for 
securing and publishing and distributing learned 
and able papers on scientific subjects, and under 
the supervision of the very able Secretary, Pro- 
fessor Henry, high hopes are cherished that this 
institution will finally embrace the amplest means 
of increasing and diffusing the noblest departments 
of human knowledge. "Of all places (said the 
Hon. Mr. Marsh, when advocating the librarj'- 
clause in the bill) in our territory, this central heart 
of the nation is the fittest for such an establish- 
ment; it is situated in the middle zone of our sys- 
teai — easily and cheaply accessible from every 
quarter of the Union — blessed M'ith a mild, a salu- 



112 PICTURE OF 

brious, and an equable climate — abundant in the 
necessaries and comforts of physical life — far re- 
moved from the din of commerce, and free fi-om 
narrow and sectional influences. 

"Let us here erect such a temple of the muses, 
served and guarded by no exclusive priesthood, 
but with its hundred gates thrown open, that every 
votary may enter unquestioned, and you will find 
it thronged with ardent worshippers, who, though 
poverty may compel them to subsist, Ifke Heyne, 
on the pods of pulse and the parings of roots, shall 
yet forget the hunger of the body in the more crav- 
ing wants of the soul." 

The building of the Smithsonian Institute is in the 
Romanesque style of architecture: A style which 
flourished in Europe from the eighth to the twelfth 
century, and which in its earlier phases approaches 
the Roman, and its later the Pointed style. The 
building itself consists of a centre building 205 feet 
long, and 55 feet broad, two connecting ranges or 
cloisters 60 feet long, and two wings averaging 40 
by 80 feet. 

The exterior of the building is by no means uni- 
form; but it has been the endeavor of the architect 
to express in some slight degree by the exterior the 
uses to which the parts of the interior are to be 
apphed. The principal entrance in front is flanked 
by two towers, averaging 130 feet in height. The 
rear entrance is through a large square tower. The 



WASHINGTON. ]13 

towers contain the stair-cases, porter's lodges, Re- 
gent's and Secretary's private rooms, arid all the 
offices of the building, together with portions of 
the library and museum. 

The central building is flanked by four towers, 
varying in height and exterior form. These are 
also used for staircases and elevators, and for the 
purposes of heating and ventilation. The interior 
of the centre is divided into two stories, in the 
lower one of which is the library, capable of con- 
taining 80,000 volumes; the great lecture room, 
which will seat 1,200 persons; and the museum, 
which will be 200 feet in length and 50 feet in 
breadth, and which is intended to contain the mag- 
nificent pi-esent of the government, the collection 
of the United States Exploring Expedition made 
by Captain Wilkes. In the eastern wing is the 
chemical lecture room and laboratory, and in the 
eastern connecting range the laboratories and 
rooms connected with the great lecture room in the 
centre building. 

The western wing and connecting range will bp 
used for galleries of art, and will form a hall of 
120 feet in length. 

The length of the whole building when complet- 
ed will be 450 feet, and its extreme breadth in the 
centre at the principal towers 140 feet, exclusive of 
the projection of the front porch. 

There will be nine towers in the various parts of 



114 PICTURE OF 

tlie building, varying from 75 to 150 feet in height. 
The height of the centre building will be 60 feet, 
and of the wings 45 feet. 

The building is constructed of rose-colored free 
stone, of fine grain and excellent quality, which is 
obtained from the Seneca quarries, distant about 
twenty-five miles from Washington, in a northerly 
direction, and lying on the bank of the Potomac 
River and the Chesapeake and Ohio canal. 

PUBLIC GROUNDS. 

On the 12th of April, 1851, President Fillmore 
adopted, with some slight restrictions and modifica- 
tions, the plan for laying off the public grounds, 
submitted by Mr. A. J. Downing, a gentleman 
known and distinguised by several excellent works 
on cottage architecture, a Treatise on the Theory 
and Practice of Landscape Gardening and designs 
for rural architecture and the improvement of resi- 
dences. The plan is not only beautiful, but mag- 
nificent, and will, when carried into full execution, 
render the public grounds of Washington more 
attractive than any in the United States. For the 
improvement and planting of these grounds Con- 
gress appropriated between twenty and thirty thou- 
sand dollars for the present year. The plan of Mr. 
Downing extends the oblong square upon which 
the President's House stands to the canal, provid- 



WASHINGTON. 1 15 

ing for a large circular parade ground in the centre, 
to be encompassed with trees, and a carriage way, 
connected by a suspension bridge with the mall 
near the Monument — the borders of said square to 
be adorned richly with trees and shrubs, and wind- 
ing gravel walks amid their fragance and shades. 
From gates opening into the great mall at the foot 
of the Capitol, a carriage way is to wind through 
its entire extent to the river, and the whole of this 
vast enclosure is laid off in diversified forms, and 
to be planted in the most tasteful manner with 
shrubs and trees, among which gravel walks are to 
run around in multiplied and ever-varying di- 
"rections. 

COLUMBIAN COLLEGE. 

This Institution, which was incorporated by 
Congress in 1821, is now in a flourishing condition; 
the number of its students has been gradually in- 
creasing for several years past; and its prospects 
are brightening on every side. It is beautifully 
situated on one of the most commanding eminences 
of the high hills that sweep around the northern 
portion of the metropolis, and is about half an 
hour's walk from the President's mansion, from the 
Capitol, from the Smithsonian Institute, from the 
National Observatory, and from all the public 
buildings in Washington. 



WASHINGTON. {^^ 

The College building is a fine brick edifice, four 
stories high, including the basement and attic, with 
sufficient room to accommodate one hundred stu- 
dents. Besides this there are three other brick 
buildings, one occupied by the President and family, 
another by the steward, and the third is used as a 
hall for the philosophical apparatus belongin^to the 
College, and also by the Preparatory Department. 

The view from College Hill is surpSss'ingly b*eal!i- 
tiful. The student can sit in his room and cast his 
eye over scenes which are well calculated to arouse 
the sluggish, to interest the most unobservant, and 
to excite feelings of energy and patriotism. Three 
cities, in all their beauty,- are spread out before him: 
the Capitol, the President's house, and the other 
public buildings are within his view ; the Potomac 
stretches away before him as far as his vision can 
reach j and upon its banks are*bbjects of absorbing 
interest ; to the right, away in the distance, may be 
seen a gently sloping hill reaching to the banks of 
the river, crowned with trees rising above the sur- 
rounding forests — it is Mount Vernon, a place hal- 
lowed in the heart of every American, the resting- 
place of Washington. 

The sessions of the college have been changed 
during the last year. The winter session of six 
months commences on the first Wednesday in Oc- 
tober, at the close of which, one week only inter- 
vening, commences the summer session, which 

d2 



118 



PICTURE OF 



continues three months. The annual commence- 
ment for conferring degrees takes place on the sec- 
ond Wednesday of July ; there is then a vacation 
until the first Wednesday of October. The num- 
ber of students, including the Preparatory Depart- 
ment, during the last session, was ninety -four. 

The, students have frequent opportunities of 
listening to the finest efforts of eloquence in Con- 
gress and the Supreme Court, and will have ad- 
mittance to the public lectures at the Smithsonian 
Institution, which will embrace a wide and ex- 
tended range of literary and scientific subjects, 

NAVY YARD. 

This is situated n|ar the mouth of the Eastern 
Branch. Fine views of the Navy Yard may be had 
from an approach up the river, from the Virginia 
shore of the Potomac, and from various other points. 
The view herewith presented is taken from the bridge 
over the Eastern Branch. It embraces the ship 
houses, the building shed, the workshops of the 
Yard, &c., &c. 

The works at this place are very extensive. 
Passing through an arched gateway, guarded by 
marines, the visiter enters a neatly kept yard, of 
some twenty or thirty acres. On his left is the 
house of the commandant of the yard, and on the 
right those for the lieutenants and other officers. 



VV A!<]| 1 NCITON, JjC) 

Farliier down toward« the EHKleni Branch are 
ranged the various workshops, the great forges for 
anchors, the block and tackle factory, the carpen- 
ters' shops, and many other buildings for the con- 
venience of the public v/orks. At this place, sev- 
eral vessels were sunk when the news of the defeat 
of our army at Bladensburg reached the authorities. 
Several hundred men are usually employed at this 
yard. It is said that vessels built here keep better 
than those built at any of the other Navy Yards of 
the Government, which is supposed to be owing to 
the more careful inspection of the timber. Nine 
fine vessels of war, of the following names and 
rates, have been launched at this yard : ship of the 
line Columbus, 74 ; first-class frigates Potomac, 
Brandywine, and Columbia, 44 each ; sloops of 
war St. Louis and St. Mary's, each 20 ; schooners 
Grampus and Shark, 10 each ; and Experiment, 4. 
Without the precincts proper of the Navy Yard, 
are the barracks for the United States Marines. 

Congress has made liberal appropriations for 
this Yard, and there are within it many mechanical 
shops, and two large ship houses. There is also 
an armory well arranged, and naval stores and 
cannon of every description are here deposited. 
The River at this Yard has sufficient depth for 
frigates, and we know not why it might not be- 
come a place for a large foreign commei'ce. 



120 ARLINGTON. 



ARLINGTON. 

Arlington House, the seat of George Washing* 
ton Park Custis, Esq., occupies a commanding po* 
sition on the Virginia side of the Potomac, elevated 
more than two hundred feet above the river, and 
immediately fronting the Capitol, from which it is 
distant something more than three miles. The 
view from this point, embracing the whole city of 
Washington and Georgetown, and a great extent 
of the river and country far beyond, in Maryland, 
is one of the finest and most picturesque in the 
world. 

The Mansion House consists of a central build- 
ing of sixty feet front, and two wings of forty 
each, making the extent of the whole one hundred 
and forty feet. A very magnificent portico, twenty- 
five feet deep, supported by eight columns of the 
ancient Doric order, five feet in diameter at their 
bases, adorns the central building, which was de- 
signed from drawings of the Temple at Psestum, 
near Naples. The edifice and portico are of brick, but 
stuccoed so as to resemble freestone, Mr. Custis has 
been greatly distinguished as an orator, and among 
his speeches will be found some of the finest speci- 
mens of eloquence. At Arlington House are carefully 
preserved many rare and valuable pictures and other 






I 



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I: 



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m 
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ill 



m 
iii 



122 ARLINGTON. 

relics descended from the ancestors of Mr. Custis, and 
some of them once in the possession of Washing- 
ton. Here are two ancient portraits Jjy Vandyke ; 
one by Sir Godfrey Kneller, representing the cele- 
brated Col. Parke, painted in 1707. Among the 
fine old engravings is one of the death of Lord 
Chatham, presented by Copley ; a death of Wolfe, 
by West ; a miniature engraving of Napier of 
Merchistbn, the inventor of logarithms, presented 
by the Earl of Buchan, and addressed to Marshal 
General Washington, this high dignity of Marshal of 
France having been conferred upon the General by 
Louis XVI, to enable him to command the Count 
de Rochambeau. Here also is the Mount Vernon 
plate, bearing the arms and crest of Washington ; 
the bed and bedstead on which the first President 
slept during the whole of his presidency, and on 
which he expired the 14th of December, 1799 ; a 
set of china, having the names of the old confede- 
ration ; also one bearing the representation of the 
Cincinnati, with many other relics which will be 
sought by the curious and eager eyes of succeeding 
generations. " During the sojourn of General 
Lafayette in the District he paid several visits of 
affection to the proprietor of Arlington House, the 
last, but one, survivor of the Washington fomily. 
The good General was peculiarly gratified with a 
view from the grand portico, pronouncing it the 
finest he had ever seen, and warmly recommended 



A R L I N G T () N . 123 

in Mrs. Ciistis to cherish the native forest trees 
which extended for some distance in the rear of the 
mansion, observino^ emphatically, ' recollect, my 
dear, hoiv much easier it is to cut a tree doion than 
make one grow.' " 

iVIr. Custis has been much engaged in agricul- 
tural pursuits, and for a number of years gave 
special attention to the rearing of fine sheep, and 
an annual festival at his own expense, with the 
view of exciting an interest among the neighboring 
formers in the nitroduction of improved breeds of 
cattle and in agricultural improvements generally. 

Very near the river, rising at the root of a vene- 
rable umbrageous old oak, is tlie famous Arlington 
Spring, to which thousands resort in the summer 
months, and where preparations have been made by 
the hospitable proprietor for their welcome reception. 
Small buildings are here erected in which any 
articles of the company may be safely, deposited ; 
the best ice is always abundant ; and all conve- 
niences are provided on an ample sheltered plat- 
form, with commodious seats for a participation in 
such meals or refreshments as the party may have 
provided. Here are still, retired walks, inviting 
lawns, shaded by beautiful groves, and the finest 
view of the river and the city imaginable. The 
fine maimers and instructive conversation of the 
venerable proprietor often add to the life and 
social enjovmenf of those who seek from the dusi 



124 ARLINGTON 

and crowds of the city a few hours' relaxation and 
retirement amid the charms of this cool and quiet 
spot. 



GEORGETOWN. 



Viewed from the Virginia side of the Potomac, 
as in the engraving, Georgetown is seen boldly and 
beautifully situated on a range of hills that rise high 
above the river, and stretch in undulating beauty 
along the northern and western horizon. 

Georgetown possesses the ancient college belong- 
ing to the Catholics, under the direction of the 
Jesuits ; also a nunnery, and various other semi- 
naries of learning. In former days, it was a place 
of great commercial enterprise ; and now those 
merchants who are largely embarked in trade, are 
full of zeal and , energy. The artist with strict 
fidelity has included a view of the Aqueduct of the 
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. This stupendous 
work, which has attracted so much notice in 
Europe as well as in America, was constructed by 
Major Turnbull, of the United States Topographical 
Engineers. The piers, nine in number, and thirty- 
six feet above high water mark, are built of granite, 
and imbedded seventeen feet in the bottom of the 
river, with a foundation upon solid rock, so as to 
withstand the shock of the spring ice, which, rush- 
ing furiously from the falls and narrows above, 
crushes with almost resistless force against the 

d4 



126 



GEORGETOWN. 



bridge of the Potomac, sweeping everything before 
it. These piers, built in the most masterly manner,- 
will bear up against any force that may be brought 
against them. The aqueduct connects the great 
canal of the Ohio and Chesapeake with the city of 
Alexandria. Its length is fourteen hundred and 
forty-six feet. 

HEIGHTS OF GEORGETOWN. 

The lofty eminences that overlook the town from 
the north and west are known as the Heights 
of Georgetown . Along these elevations gentlemen 
of wealth have built their dwellings, and cultivated 
beautiful and extensive gardens. ' 

The view is taken from the tui-npike rond lead- 
ing from Georgetown to Fredericktown in Mary- 
land. Nothing can surpass this splendid panorantii. 
Below reposes the city of Georgetown, with its 
spires — to the left is the Metropolis — like a waving 
band of silver, the«Potomac stretches as far as the 
eye can reach to the south — while the cupola of 
Mount Vernon can be distinguished, in a clear day, 
by a good eye, breaking up against the Southern 
horizon. 

No strii!ii:,er at the seat of Gove-iMiient should 
omit visiuijg the s^iot fioni which th.s view is 
taken. 



r 



%} 



1 ;^A 



GEORGETOWN. JQ^ 



OAK-HILL CEMETERY. 

Another highly valuable and much needed im- 
provement, well worthy of the patronage of the 
inhabitants, and of being visited by travellers, is 
now in the course of completion on the Heights of 
Georgetown, through the munificence of one of its 
native citizens, William W. Corcoran, Esq. 

On the ridge of hills, dividing Rock creek from 
the Potomac river, and at the northern extremity of 
Washington street, lies a piece of forest land, long 
known as Parrott's woods, which from its pictur- 
esque scenery, and retired locality, had long been 
a favorite walk of the inhabitants of Georgetown, 
but which had within the last few years been the 
resort of turbulent and disorderly persons. This 
place was purchased by Mr. Corcoran, who, in 
the beginning of 1849, obtained from Congress a 
charter for it, under the name of the Oak-hill 
Cemetery, placing it in the care of four trustees, 
to have it handsomely improved and prepared for 
its intended purpose. 

These trustees, Messrs. Mahbury, Mathews, 
Thomas, and Linthicum, began their operations by 
the selection of a civil engineer of the highest quali- 
fications for scientific attainments, and cultivated 
taste, George F De La Roche, Esq., formerly 



J28 GEORGETOWN. 

of Baltimore, who has planned and carried out the 
design entrusted to him in a manner extremely credit 
table to his skill and genius. In the present ad- 
vanced state of the work, it is everywhere ad- 
mitted, that a more judicious appointment could 
hardly have been made. A correspondent of 
the Baltimore Sun gives the following graphic de- 
scription of it, which we take the liberty of copy- 
ing : 

" Captain De La Roche, took it in hand in May, 
1849 J a sterile forest, cut up with dangerous and 
unsightly ravines, precipitously descending into 
Rock creek on its northern boundary, (that 
stream then only about thirty feet wide,) and its 
grounds covered over with jutting rocks and loose 
stones. 

" Its sterile appearance is fast disappearing, its 
ravines are no longer to be seen, but over wide and 
high sewers, are now covered with well-paved carri- 
age roads ; the northern precipitous descent into the 
rreek (now flanked by a strong wall 13 feet high) 
has changed to an excellent carriage road 10 feet 
higher than the water, affording free access from 
the northern portions of the ground to the entrance, 
formerly utterly impracticable ; the bed of the 
stream is now 150 feet wide, and the surface, in 
lieu of rugged rocks, various and precipitous, pre- 
sents a beautifully undulating, and ever-varying 
prospect of well-gravelled, serpentine walks, green 



GEORGETOWN. 129' 

slopes, and well-graded lots,* with an underground 
drainage, entirely preventing washings, which when 
his design is fully carried out, will render it one of 
the most desirable, if not one of the handsomest 
cemeteries in the United States ; and this immense 
amount of labor has been faithfully executed at a 
far less cost than by any one expected, in view of 
its magnitude." 

A handsome and capacious mausoleum, or pub- 
lic vault, has also been constructed by the engineer, 
in a central and very appropriate place. The front 
is of dressed granite, of the Henry the Eighth 
style of Gothic. The receptacle is calculated to 
hold from 40 to 50 coffins, laying entirely clear of 
each other, and is by well contrived ventilation 
kept clear from noxious exhalations of every kind. 

Besides the above im.provements made under 
the charter by the trustees, the generous donor of 
the land, (and of a large sum towards these im- 
provements,) continues to advance the necessary 
funds ; and that nothing may be wanting for the 
ornament and usefulness of the cemetery, has added 
a handsome and massive front iron railing, a gate- 
keeper's dwelling, of the Norman style of architec- 
ture, and an elegant Gothic chapel, adorned with 
beautiful stained-glass windows, for the perform- 

* He ought to have added, without destroying the beautiful 
Ibrest trees. 



130 GEORGETOWN. 

ance of the funeral service — the two hitter buikliiigti! 
iiaving- been planned by Mr Ren wick, architect. 

CONVENT OF VISITATION. 

The Convent of Visitation, Georgetown, founded 
in 1798, is at present the most flourishing: establish- 
ment of its kind in the United States. It is situated 
at the northwest extremity of the town, upon the 
declivity of one of the Ijeautiful heights of George- 
town. The handsome range of buildings appro- 
priated for the ladies' academy is of brick, between 
two and three hundred feet in length, by forty ii: 
breadth. In their interior, usefulness and conve- 
nience are combined with neatness and elegance ; 
and the apartments are admirably adapted to the 
uses made of them. These buildings occupy part 
of the side of anf'bblong square, which contains an 
area of four or five acres, a portion of which 
is appropriated as play ground for the scholars, .-ind 
the remainder as an excellent botanical garden. 
There are other edifices of great extent on the same 
square, comprising the Bishop's residence, an ele- 
gant church, the convent and charity schools. The 
whole is under the direction of the sisters of visita- 
tion. 

Miss English's Female Seminary. — The Female 
Seminary under the direction of Miss English is 
one of the very best in the Union, and is designed 



GEORGETOWN. ]^l 

to afford the advantages of the most liberal course 
in the more solid as well as the more ornamental 
branches of education. This institution has been 
in existence since 1831 in its present form ; the 
building is very ample and convenient ; the num- 
ber of teachers of high reputation, large, and not 
only the more ordinary, elegant accomplishments 
of music and drawing are here taught, but also the 
French, Italian, and Spanish languages, under able 
masters. The Principal of this Seminary has avail- 
ed herself of every advantage, and visited the best 
institutions in order to render her plan and modes 
of instruction and discipline the best possible, and 
her annual examinations bear testimony to the en- 
tire success of her indefatigable efforts. Pupils have 
been sent forth from this Seminary into nearly 
every part of this Union, enriched with the knowl- 
edge, and adorned with the graces which it is so 
admirably adapted to impart. 

There are several valuable schools for boys, 
among which may be particularly mentioned that 
of Mr. Abbot, an English and Classical Academy 
of high order. 

Of the present state o Georgetown our intelli- 
gent fellow-citizen, Mr. Sessford,. whose statistical 
information of the district is generally accurate, 
reports that considerable improvements have been 
made in Georgetown in improving the streets, the 

A large iron-roll- 



132 GEORGETOWN. 

ing factory is nearly completed, adjoining the aque- 
duct. A cotton factory is now in successful opera- 
tion. It is also in contemplation to put up two 
more flour mills, which are much wanted, as the 
trade on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal is great, 
and rapidly increasing, and its completion to 
Cumberland wiU cause a brisk trade on it, and no 
doubt in a few years it will equal any other canal 
in the country. The demand for the superior coal 
iilone will give full employ for boats. Flour, grain, 
hay, wood, lime, &c. , will be furnished in abundance 
for home consumption and exportation. The lands 
contiguous will increase in value, new villages, &c., 
spring up, and the facihties of transportation to the 
West be greatly promoted. 

About three miles above Georgetown, on the 
Potomac, is the romantic view represented on the 
opposite page. It can be approached by an ex- 
cellent road along the tow path of the Chesapeake 
and Ohio Canal, and will amply repay a visit from 
any admirer of wild and picturesque scenery. 

POPULATION OF GEORGETOWN, 

According to the Census of 1850. 

Whites 6,031 

Free Colored 1,560 

Slaves 725 

Total 8,366 






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ALEXANDRIA 



This city, though no longer within the District of 
Columbia, is well deserving notice, enjoying a very 
high character for the manners and virtues of its 
inhabitants, and also for many commercial ad- 
vantages. It carries on considerable trade with the 
West Indies,. and also with Europe, and with the 
eastern and southern States. The town is laid off 
at right angles, and is the residence of a number o< 
old and wealthy families, who still exhibit the man- 
ners of Virginians of the time of " Fitzhugh, of 
Chatham, and of Washington." 

The spectator who, from the western front of the 
Capitol, overlooks the beautiful and diversified 
plain which stretc-hes beneath and around it, will 
discern j at the distance of about six miles to the 
south, this busy port. Facilities for reaching it are 
afforded by the steamboats, which ply at almost 
every hour of the day, and also by a bridge across 
the Potomac, and an excellent turnpike. The 
strikingly beautiful features of the intervening coun- 
try — the graceful outline of the Virginia hills, con- 
fronted by those of Maryland — the broad and ma- 
jestic expanse of the Potomac — all conspire to ren- 
der an excursion to Alexandria one of the most 



134 ALEXANDRIA. 

agreeable incidents whicli can await the sojourner 
in Washmgton. 

Few, comparatively, of the interior towns of the 
United States can look back, like Alexandria, on 
the vicissitudes of nearly a century. Its founda- 
tion dates from 1748 ; and that it was early a place 
of some note, is shown by the fact, that five colo- 
nial governors met here by appointment, in 1775, 
to take measures with General Braddock respecting 
his expedition to the West. That expedition pro- 
ceeded from Alexandria ; and tradition still points 
to the site on which now stands the older Episcopal 
Church, (but then " in the woods ;") as the spot 
where he pitched his tents, wliile the road over the 
western hills, by which his army withdrew, long 
bore the name of this unfortunate commander. 

But the reminiscences which the Alexandrians 
most cherish are those which associate their town 
v/ith the domestic attachments and habits of Wash- 
ington. The reader of his letters and addresses 
will remember that he constantly speaks of them 
as his old and valued fellow-citizens, his kind 
and cherished neighbors and associates. Writing 
from Yorktown, he assures them that "amidst 
all the vicissitudes of time and fortune, he should 
ever regard with particular affection the citizens 
and inhabitants of Alexandria." On another occa- 
sion he mentions, with seeming exultation, that the 
people of Alexandria, who, on hearing of the rati- 



ALEXANDRIA. 135 

fication of the Constitution by the requisite num- 
ber of the States, had determined to vote a day of 
festivity, " constituted the first public assembly 
which had the pleasure of pouring out a libation 
to the ten States that had actually adopted the 
General Government." This friendly interest was 
manifested on every occasion, and a legacy of 
IjOOOZ. to a free school in the town testifies that it 
ceased only with his life. Nor were the Alexan- 
drians backward in acknowledging, nor have they 
since been unmindful of, the honor which so inti- 
mate and cordial an intercourse conferred upon their 
city. Of the sympathies which reassured him in 
the hour of difficulty, of the acclamations which 
greeted him in that of his success, theirs were not 
the least fervent or the least welcome. It was this 
*' voice from home" which, amid the applauses of 
the world, seemed ever to come with most accep- 
tance to the heart of Washington. The stranger 
in Alexandria is still pointed to the church of which 
he was a vestryman, to the pew in which he cus- 
tomarily sate ; and many striking memorials of his 
varied life are carefully preserved. 

Among the public works which attest the spirit 
or animate the hopes of the Alexandrians, the first 
place is undoubtedly due to the canal, recently com- 
pleted. The intelligent observer who views the 
acqueduct at Georgetown, which forms a part of it, 
will be astonished that so stupendous an undertak- 



J36 ALEXANDRIA. 

ing should have entered into the contemplation of a 
Community like that of Alexandria. Nor is it pos- 
sible that it could have been effected until after long 
years of embarrassment and distress, liad not the 
timely aid of the Federal Government been ex- 
tended to the work. This canal will open to Alex-' 
andria the resources of the upper Potomac, and 
confer on the tow^n unsurpassed facilities for manu- 
facturing". The abundance and cheapness of pro- 
visions, and the salubrity of the air, are favorable 
to this object ; and many flourishing manufactories 
of iron, leather, peltries, &c., already exist. 

In the neighborhood of this city is the Theologi- 
cal Seminary of the Episcopal Church of Virginia, 
with several able and learned professors. 

A new Court House, of large dimensions and 
handsome design, has recently been added to the 
conveniences of the town. 

The Museum, kept in rooms over the market 
house, is well worth attention, comprising as it 
does, more personal relics of General Washington 
than can be found elsewhere, and also a large and 
curious collection of specimens in Natural His- 
tory. 

The churches and houses of worship belonging 
to the town are numerous, commodious, and well 
attended. Public schools ai-e many, and their ex- 
emplary character has acquired for Alexandria 
wide repute as a theatre of education. It will not 



ALEXANDRIA. 137 

be invidious to particvilarize the one kept by Ben- 
jamin Hallowell, since its numerous scholars have 
carried its reputation into every part of the Union, 

Within a few years past, an association styled 
the Lyceum, and accommodated in a new and taste- 
ful edifice, built of free-stone, after the Doric order, 
has served to evince that the citizens of Alexandria 
are not behind the most enlightened communities 
of the age in a love of letters, or a zeal for im- 
provement. The course of lectures delivered dur- 
ing the winter, brings together with great regularity 
a crowded audience, and to the ordinary attractions 
of the institution have occasionally been added 
the names of such lecturers as Adams, Barnard, 
Gushing, Goodrich, Gurley, &c. 

A large cotton factory has lately been erected, 
also a handsome edifice called Odd Fellows' Hall, 
and other improvements have been made, creditable 
10 the enterprise of Alexandria. Large quantities 
of flour are shipped from Alexandria, and recently 
the coal trade is becoming of some importance 
while increased attention is given to manufactures. 
Rising by a gentle acclivity from the water's edge, 
the country subsides into a wide and level plain, 
until it reaches the base of a range of hills whose 
summits, at diflJerent points, (such as Shuter's 
Hill, Mount Ida, Arlington, &c.,) present a suc- 
cession of views, which for extent, variety, and 
beauty, it might be difficult to rival. 



i38 MOUlfT VERNON. 

Tlie population of Alexandria by the census o{ 
1850, was: whites, 6,390; free colored, 1,301; 
slaves, 1,061 ; total, 8,752. 

MOUNT VERNON. 

Ever to be cherished spot — dear to the heart of 
every American ! 

The picture herewith presented of this classic 
and patriotic shrine, is eminently correct. This 
seat of the illustrious man who will ever be first in 
the hearts of his countrymen, i^ distant from 
Washington, on the Virginia side of the Potomac, 
fifteen miles. The most usual mode of visiting it, 
is by taking a steamboat to Alexandria, and a pas- 
sage thence (eight miles) in a coach or omnibus. 

The central part of the Mount Vernon house 
was built by Lawrence Washington, brother to the 
General ; the wings were added by the General, 
and the whole named after Admiral Vernon, under 
whom Lawrence Washington had served. The 
house is of wood, two stories high, ninety -six feet 
in length, and with a portico extending the whole 
distance. It contains on the ground floor six 
rooms, one of them at the northeast, large and 
lofty, with a fine marble mantel piece sent to Gen- 
eral Washington from Italy. 

In front of the house and gradually sloping 
down to the river is a handsome lawn embracing 







'"^^^^ 
















^ 

tl 



/ '^^ r< 



4tf 









M O U N T V E R N O N . 139 

five or six acres planted with poplars and shrubbery. 
This place, on the death of the late Judge Wash- 
ington, pass'ed into the possession of his nephew, 
John Augustine Washington. Tlie gardens and 
green house planted and preserved by General 
Washington have been carefully guarded, and are 
objects of great interest to visitors. The library 
room remains as when occupied by General Wash- 
ington. A summer house stands about two hund- 
red yards from the house, and very near the river, 
and commands a goodly prospect of the Potomac 
and opposite Maryland shore. On the hill side to- 
wards the river, at about one hundred and fifty 
yards west from the summer house, and per- 
haps thirty rods from the house, is the vault 
where repose the remains of Washington. Every 
thing about Mount Vernon is in keeping with 
the great man whose home it was. The trees 
are large and shady. The vistas through the 
woods, commanding glimpses of the glittering river 
and the passing sails, the green slopes basking in 
the sun and gradually losmg themselves beneath 
the shadowy underbrush, present a beautiful and 
picturesque scene. The house itself is two stories 
high, and surmounted by a small cupola, with a 
weathercock, the gilding of which, though ancient 
and storm-beaten, is as brilliant as if it had been 
done but yesterday. The piazza reaches from the 
ground to the eaves of the roof, and is guarded orj 



140 MOUNT VERNON. 

the top by a light and tasteful balustrade. The 
pillars are large and graceful, and present a simple 
and £:rand idea to the mind. Beneath this porch 
the Father of his country was accustomed to walk, 
and the ancient stones, to hearts of enthusiastic 
patriotism, are full of deep and meditative interest. 
The interior is wainscotted, after the fashion of 
those days, with highly wrought cornices and 
shafts. The rooms are generally small, except the 
dining room, which is a spacious and hospitable 
hall. The whole house presents a curious spec- 
tacle. Every thing reminds one of former days ; 
and in treading the halls of Mount Vernon, the 
mind reverts incessantly to that majestic form, 
whose shadow cast upon those very walls, seems 
to the mind's eye, ready to start before us into 
life. 

The cedars on the sodded vault are withered. 
Here slept from the day of his burial until within 
a few years back the body of the illustrious chief. 
A new vault was built a short distance off, and 
thither he was removed. In a sarcophagus now 
sleep the remains of "Washington. The lid is 
wrought with the arms of his country, and the 
simple but elegant epitaph is his name. By his 
side, in a corresponding tomb, are the ashes of 
"Martha, consort of Washington." This tomb 
is surrounded by several venerable old oaks, and 
thick shrubbery spreads its foliage down the hill 



■-^•^»^. 




BL ADENSBURG. 14| 

to the water's edge. The evergreen boughs of the 
cedar are interspersed among the oaks, and the 
position of the sepulchre is very picturesque and 
appropriate. When Lafayette visited the tomb he 
descended alone into the vault, and after a few 
minutes appeared bathed in tears. When leaving 
the vault, Mr. Custis presented General Lafayette 
with a gold ring containing some of the hair of 
Washington. George W. Lafayette stated to Mr. 
Levasseur that every thing in the house was as 
when he saw it twenty-eight years before. He 
found in the plaee where Washington himself had 
left it, the principal key of the Bastile, which had 
been sent to him by Lafayette. 



BLADENSBUllG. 

History has the name of Bladensburg recorded 
in her annals, and to the visiter at the seat of Gov- 
ernment, it must always be an object of interest. 
It is situated on the turnpike road leading from 
Washington to Baltimore, and before the Revolu- 
tion was a town of some commercial importance, 
transacting considerable business in tobacco, flour, 
and other agricultural produce; but it is now only 
a small village. 

The view presents the heights around the village, 



142 BLADENSBURG. 

and the bridge over the Eastern Branch, which, 
though it flows here a shallow stream, afterwards 
assumes the bold features of a river. The road in 
the foreground in that along which the British 
army marched to the battle, and afterwards to 
Washington. On tliis bridge the English fell in 
column, swept off" by repeated discharges of the 
American artillery. In vain, for some moments, 
were the commands of officers — in vain the force 
of thorough discipline and approved courage. The 
forces could not advance; they wavered under the 
terrible discharge: and had the scenes of that un- 
fortunate day been equalled by the check given the 
enemy on the bridge of Bladensburg, the metrop- 
olis of the nation would not have fallen under the 
fires of an invading army. 



CONCLUSION. 

We might mention several places and country 
seats of great beauty and interest in the vicinity of 
Washington. The Mansion House of the late 
General J. P. Van Ness, occupying the spot where 
stood the farm house of David Burns, one of the 
principal proprietors of the ground of the city, is 
situated on the low land near the Potomac, nearly 
south of the President's House. It is a commo- 
dious edifice, surrounded bv fine trees, and an 



CONCLUSION. ]43 

ample and well cultivated garden. The building, 
adorned by a handsome stcne portico, and the 
various improvements, are in excellent taste. Near 
Bladensburg, about six miles north-east from Wash- 
ington, on a fine lawn, is the seat of the late George 
Calvert, a lineal descendant of Lord Baltimore. 
The venerable country seat of the late Mr. Carrol, 
of Duddington, near the Navy Yard, is, even in 
its decay, an object of interest. We cannot notice 
as particularly as we could desire Kalorama, the 
former residence of Joel Barlow, beautifully situa- 
ted near the rising ground of Rock Creek ; Merid- 
ian Hill, the former abode of Commodore Porter, 
but now owned by F. F. Cox, Esq.; or the very 
eligible country seats of Messrs. Stone, Pairo, 
Riggs, Blair, Gales, Birch, and Rives, all inviting 
to the eye of t'he stranger, and adorned by the taste 
and rendered still more attractive by the hospitality 
of their proprietors. 

Every year is adding to the number and resources 
of our citizens, and to their private and public im- 
provements. Measures are already in progress for 
lighting the City with gas, and for introducing an 
abundant supply of the purest water. These great 
and most desirable objects will, we have no doubt, 
shortly be attained, and other important improve- 
ments be made worthy of the metropolis of the 
Union. The City of Washington is an object of 



144 CONCLUSION. 

interest to the inhabitants of distant lands. Many 
a pilgrim seeks it from remote regions, attracted 
thither by the illustrious name it bears, and animat- 
ed by the hope that here, in the centre of the great 
republic of liberty, he may find her choicest bless- 
ings. Here indeed are they found, and not solitary 
and alone, but in connection with a mild and salu- 
brious climate, a soil capable of high cultivation 
and the best productions, with the choicest luxuries 
of the land and the sea, excellent advantages for 
education, and frequent access to the noblest display 
of argument and eloquence in the Supreme Court 
and in Congress, and a society, if equalled, not 
surpassed in intelligence and courtesy by any in 
the world. Here too is religion venerated, and 
many temples of the Most High open weekly their 
gates to sincere and devout worshipers. Even in 
the Capitol, is divine service performed, every Sab- 
bath during the session of Congress. The voice 
of religious instruction and the anthems of holy 
praise, elevate the sentiments of the great congre- 
gation to Him before whom all nations are less 
than nothing, and vranity. 



LIBBABV 



ONGBESS 




